'Overcooked' Virat Kohli needs break: Ravi Shastri

Mumbai: Former India head coach Ravi Shastri believes that ex-captain Virat Kohli is "overcooked" and is in need of a break to regroup and get back in form after a prolonged lean patch.

Kohli, who stepped down from India captaincy roles last year, has not scored a century in any format since November 2019.

He has had an equally dismal time in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), amassing just 119 runs in seven matches at an average of 19.83.

"I am going straight to the main guy here. Kohli is overcooked. If anyone needs a break, it's him," Shastri said on the Star Sports show on Tuesday.

Kohli, who plies his trade for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, was dismissed for first ball duck in the match against Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday.

"Whether it's two months or a month-and-a-half, whether it's after the England tour (in July) or before – he needs a break because he has got six-seven years of cricket left in him and you don't want to lose that with a fried brain," he added.

India are set to travel to England for a one-off Test in July, to complete their prematurely abandoned World Test Championships (WTC23) series last year. (UNI)