Everyone is expecting Virat Kohli to come out and get a hundred every game: Steve Waugh | Cricket News

Bengaluru: Steve Waugh represented a generation of cricketers who were dour, confident and supremely talented. Hence, it is hardly surprising that he backs Virat Kohlia modern-day great, to overcome his form slump. “Great players tend to find a way and rectify things pretty quickly,” said Waugh, a Laureus Academy member, during a select virtual media interaction from Hong Kong on Friday. Excerpts…
On Sunday’s India-Pakistan game:
It’s more than a cricket match, a worldwide event and very unpredictable. Both sides have lots of talent. You never really know what the outcome is going to be. One-Day cricket is a lot more unpredictable than Tests. One person can have a great game and influence the match. India are favorites. Shubman Gilla very good player, just got a century. Obviously, there’s Kohli and the other big names. Pakistan have been hot and cold over the last 12 months. They’re capable of doing good things. So, you’re not sure what Pakistan side is going to turn up. But it wouldn’t surprise me if Pakistan won that game.

On the dip in Virat Kohli’s form:
We set such high standards, everyone is expecting him to come out and get a hundred every game, which is not possible. He’s an amazing player. He was disappointed with his returns, and he kept getting out the same way (in Australia), which was a little bit surprising for such a great player.
Great players tend to find a way and rectify things quickly. But I guess it just proved he’s human like the rest of us. Things in life change too. He’s got children. Obviously other things are very important in his life, besides cricket. He just needs that little bit of spark to get him back. I never write off great players.

The tendency to sort of just hang the bat outside off-stump, that’s something he could rectify quickly. I think that comes down to concentration and focus. Maybe that’s the area that is down now. Maybe he thinks too far ahead or is thinking about the consequences rather than playing it one ball at a time.
On the need to step away to revitalize one’s career:
Everyone’s different. Sometimes you have to get away from the game or have a hobby or another interest and not be totally obsessed with cricket. It’s unhealthy to think about cricket 24/7. I was successful on away tours because I got out and took photographs. I wrote books. I got out of the hotel. I always tell players, have a hobby or have an interest away from cricket because sometimes the best way to overcome adversity or lack of form is to just focus on something else and recharge your batteries. My advice to players who are struggling is to go to someone you trust, like your coach or one of your teammates and say, have you seen anything in my technique that might be not going quite right? You’ve got to go to the people you trust.
On the relevance of ODIs:
Everyone doubts One-Day cricket until you have a major tournament, and then you realize you really like ODIs and they’re exciting. It looks like a long form again when you stack it up against T20. Now it’s almost seen as a boring format, but every time we have a World Cup, people fall in love with ODIs again. I think the (big ODI) tournaments are going to be important and mean something. So, the Champions Trophy, while it’s not as high profile as the World Cup, is important for players. It’s going to be increasingly hard in the future to fit all formats into the game. With more T20 cricket, more countries like China, America and Saudi Arabia coming down the track, it’s going to be very hard to fit everything in. And the one format which will probably suffer a bit will be ODIs.

On his favourites for the CT semifinals:
It’s unpredictable. Obviously, India, in those conditions. New Zealand have got a very strong squad. I would never underestimate Australia. Then there’s England. Honestly, it’s hard to pick the top floor and you can’t write off the rest.
(Steve Waugh, the former Australian captain, was at the Laureus Sport for Good Mental Health and Wellbeing Forum, funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust)