'If Kohli hits fifty in 1st match at Asia Cup, mouths will be shut'

While critics are yet to come to terms with the fact that out-of-form India batter Virat Kohli has been picked for the upcoming Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates, former India coach Ravi Shastri is ready to bet on the ace batter who would be back into the national team after a break.

Shastri, who backed the idea of Kohli going into a break to regather himself, feels if the former India captain slams a fifty in the very first game which is against arch-rivals Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday (28), all the mouths criticising him would be shut.

"I haven't spoken to him but it's not rocket science. Big players wake up in due course. They need a break; mental fatigue can creep in to the best in the world. There is a not a single player in world cricket who has not gone through a bad patch and I am sure this downtime is not just for the body, it's time to reflect. He would have reflected as to what things he could have done better," the 60-year-old Shastri, whose partnership with Kohli in the dressing room saw India registering some memorable wins, said in a press conference organised by Star Sports, the official broadcaster of Asia Cup 2022.

"What he didn't do right? What things he did absolutely right and should keep focussing on that. What he allowed to come into his mindset that was just not required or relevant? All these things come into play. You get an opportunity to then decide, what is the future course of action. Whether it is shot selection, or it is how you plan, when to shift gears, should I give himself more time. And now it is time for him to execute those plans," Shastri said.

He also weighed in on the criticism that Kohli has had to tackle.

"He will come back with a calmer mind, because the heat is off. You have been away. Now, what you do will get the tone. He gets a fifty in the very first game, mouths will be shut for the rest of the tournament. What's happened in the past is history. Remember, public memory is very short. So it works both ways. His opportunity here is to get that calmness and then take it one day at a time," he said.

While Kohli hasn't hit an international hundred for more than 1,000 days, his last fifty had come in February and he has looked a pale shadow of his former brilliant self.

But Shastri believes that both Kohli and his fans await a fresh start.