Is age catching up with Virat Kohli? Greg Chappell opens up on India star’s poor performance and how he can regain form

As Virat Kohli continues to face challenges in Test cricket, questions have cropped up about whether age is catching up with him.
Kohli, who has long been one of the most prolific run-scorers for India, has struggled to find his rhythm in recent times. During the last five Test matches against Bangladesh and New Zealand, Kohli managed just one half-century.

Ahead of the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series in 2024-25, legendary former Australian cricketer Greg Chappell offered his insights into Kohli’s recent struggles and shared advice on how the batting maestro can regain his best form.

What did Greg Chappell say about Virat Kohli?

Greg Chappell, in a conversation with RevSportz, described Virat Kohli as a “champion player” who thrives in big moments.

“Virat is a champion player, and the big matches will be the ones that he aims for. He wants to perform well in every tournament that he plays in,” Chappell said.

Chappell also shared a personal anecdote about a conversation he had with cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar.

The discussion centred around the challenges of batting as players age.

Tendulkar had asked Chappell why batting became more difficult over time.

“Soon after I started coaching India, I was in my room in the hotel, and the phone rang, and it was Sachin, and Sachin said, ‘Can I come and talk to you?’ And so, yes, he came down, and the question he asked was, ‘Why does batting get more difficult? Surely it should get easier.’ And I said, ‘Not really.'”

Chappell explained that when players are younger, they approach the game with simplicity and a focus purely on the ball, “When you’re younger, you’re just playing the game; you see the ball, and you hit the ball.
You’re just looking to score runs. You don’t think about very much else around that.”

He further explained that as players age, the opposition becomes more familiar with their strengths and weaknesses, making it harder to maintain that same level of fluidity.

“As you get older, the opposition come to know a little bit more about you and they understand you a lot better and they know how to bowl to you and what sort of fields to set.

“And I said to him, ‘If you want to bat like you did as a young man, then you have to think like you did as a young man,” Chappell added.

Can Virat Kohli bounce back mentally?

The Australian legend believes Kohli’s struggles are more mental than physical.

The Australian great pointed out that Kohli has experienced nearly every aspect of international cricket. He’s faced various challenges, and now it’s all about refreshing his mindset to perform at the highest level once again.

“I have no doubt that Virat is in that stage of his cricket career where he’s been around a lot. He’s seen everything that can happen. The opposition know him inside out. And he also knows just how hard it is to perform at that level,” said Chappell.

“So it takes a special effort, and that special effort sometimes is just to try and decompress yourself, let go of a lot of the information that you’ve taken on board along the journey, and just keep it simple. The other thing is that you need to come into these games fresh mentally. So he will know what he needs to do to freshen himself up,” he added.

The first Test between India and Australia will take place at the Perth Stadium in Perth, starting on November 22. The cricket world will be watching closely to see whether Virat Kohli can reignite his form.