Misbah-ul-Haq, a former cricketer for Pakistan, talked about Virat Kohli’s performance against his country at the 2022 T20 World Cup and how elite players handle pressure. India emerged victorious from a difficult run-chase against their fiercest rivals in Melbourne thanks to a brilliant Kohli knock.
According to Misbah-ul-Haq, one of the reasons Kohli has such an amazing record in multi-team competitions is that he is a player who performs best under pressure.
The pressure of competing in the India-Pakistan encounter is felt by all. When I used to play against India, I was sure that I would perform if I got off to a strong start. The player knows from muscle memory and mentality that good performance has a significant impact on the game, and position during the game also matters. In every game, against a variety of opponents, but particularly against Pakistan, Virat Kohli gave excellent performance.
He did so much harm to Pakistan with an innings that was played at a critical juncture. Previewing India vs. Pakistan in the ICC T20 World Cup on Star Sports Press Room, he stated, “So even in Pakistan’s mind, there is a mentality, there is a supremacy, and even in Kohli’s mind, he knows that he can perform well against Pakistan.”
He is such a player that, on important occasions, he draws motivation from the situation rather than succumbing to pressure. I used to feel like I had to step up whenever there was pressure or when the team was in a difficult position.
And Virat, a world-class cricket player, is also affected by this. Therefore, Pakistan or any other side has to get him out early in order to play against a team like India, as we did in the Champions Trophy. You can debate strike rates all you want, but this is a player who is accustomed to winning matches and knows how to do it. There is never a circumstance or position where you are secure if he is at the crease.”
In addition, Misbah discussed the strike rate dilemma involving players such as Babar Azam and Virat Kohli, implying that players are influenced by external viewpoints regardless of what they may say. Although Babar and Kohli have been the most prolific scorers for both their teams and the format, there have been occasional doubts about their intentions and methods when playing in the shortest format. But Misbah dismissed all of these worries, saying that elite players take the criticism to heart and use it to sharpen their skills.
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“You are affected by outside noise when you hear it, even if you are talking about Babar.” However, there are powerful players who possess a strong mentality, and the world’s top players are those who take inspiration from this and demonstrate to others how they can respond practically. Those comments and criticisms inspire players like Babar and Virat Kohli, and maybe he can play with the same intensity when the team needs him to.
You have to constantly reminding yourself that I can play at a 160, 170, or 200 strike rate when the team needs me if they don’t, and he needs to be an anchor. Then and only then am I elite. Not that I’m going to play with a 130 strike rate when the team needs to score 200 runs. Babar will therefore need to consider this going into the World Cup.”
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