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'Avoid confrontations on the field': De Villiers' advice for Kohli amid form struggles

During the five-Test series against Australia, Kohli scored just 190 runs at an average of 23.75

Former South African cricketer AB de Villiers had a word of advice for close friend and star India batter Virat Kohli, who had a horror tour of Australia and struggled with deliveries outside off-stump, most notably by pacer Scott Boland.

India lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia after 10 years, succumbing to Aussies by six wickets in the final Test at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) and losing the series 1-3.

During the five-Test series against Australia, Kohli scored just 190 runs at an average of 23.75.

De Villiers said that Kohli needs to "reset his mind" and get rid of on-field battles with individual players while he continues to battle form.

"I think the thing is to reset your mind, every time. I think with Virat, he gets involved with the battle on the field. That is one of his biggest strengths and it can also be a weakness," the former South African batter said.

"During this series, we saw him have individual battles with some of the players, the crowd got under his skin. Virat loves the fight, but when you are not in the form of your life, it is best to get rid of those things. As a batter, it is to reset every single and realize every ball is an event and just forget about the bowler.

"I think sometimes Virat forgets about that because of his fighting spirit and the nature of the man wanting to be involved and show the whole of India he is there to fight for them. The skill, experience and greatness of the guy are not an issue. It's about the refocus after every single ball. Maybe sometimes he gets too involved."

Meanwhile, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan asked Kohli to return to domestic cricket to fix the technical problems.

Pathan pointed out Kohli's lack of domestic cricket as a major factor behind his lean patch, drawing comparisons with legendary players like Sachin Tendulkar.

"Many players had the opportunity to play domestic cricket, but they did not. Why is that happening? Because the culture has changed. We have to change the culture. We have to improve things for Indian cricket as a team," Pathan said.

"You are getting out from the same mistake again and again. You are not creating a gap between two mistakes. You are not trying to fix the technical mistake," he said, urging Kohli to seek guidance from legendary players like Sunil Gavaskar. "Sunny Sir is in the field. How long does it take to talk to Sunny Sir or someone?"

While Pathan acknowledged Kohli's immense contributions to Indian cricket over the years, he made it clear that reputation alone cannot justify a place in the team.

"When we talk about Virat Kohli, he has done a lot for India. He has delivered many performances. But this is about the team, not the individuals," he said.