I was feeling mentally weak, says Virat Kohli reflecting on break from cricket

Speaking on Star Sports special show, Kohli revealed he hasn't touched his bat for a month for the first time in 10 years' time.

"Something different about this break was that for the first time in 10 years, I have not touched my bat for a month. When I sat down and thought about it I was like I haven't actually touched a bat for 30 days which I haven't done ever in my life," said Kohli.

Speaking more on the break which followed his prolonged lean path, Kohli said, "I was experiencing that I'm not excited to train, I wasn't excited to practice and that really disturbed me because this is not who I am and I literally need to step away from that environment.

"You get blinded when you get involved in such an environment, when you move away you get to know what is really happening. This is what I need to do and this has been an amazing break."

Kohli, who will be back in action from Sunday when India will take on arch-rival Pakistan in Asia Cup 2022, further revealed he felt low in the phase.

Image Credit: Instagram/Virat Kohli

"Trust me, faking to be strong is far worse... I'm not feeling any shame to say that I was feeling mentally weak," the superstar cricketer said.

While all eyes will be on Kohli and his performances in the Asia Cup, where India are one of the strong contenders to win the title, Indian cricket board (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly threw weights behind the giant cricketer.

Speaking on the sidelines of an event in Kolkata Friday, Ganguly said, "He's a big player. He has been playing for a long time. I am sure he has a plan or a formula to score runs."

"It's not possible that a player of his stature won't go through a lean patch. He will definitely be scoring again. He needs to score runs for himself as well as India," added the cricket board chief.