Permission to Fail

Form deserts everyone batter at times in their career. When this happens run scoring becomes very difficult and may seem nigh impossible. What seemed like a walk in the park earlier now feels like a marathon. No change in training routines and preparation but they just don't seem to bear fruit. Virat Kohli is going through such a phase now. When one sets such high standards of performance like Kohli has for himself and delivered them so consistently over a such a long period of time, it is inevitable that there will be lean phase some time and unfortunately that time is now. 

RCB means a lot to Kohli. Despite his best efforts the IPL trophy continues to be evade his beloved RCB's grasp. The pressure of not contributing must be taking a toll and making it all the more difficult for him to bounce back. With each of his failures RCB's chances of making the playoffs are getting more and more tricky. Giving up RCB's captaincy must not have been easy. As Kohli felt it will enable him to contribute more as a batter he gave it up. This speaks a lot to the extent to which he will go to do the right things for the right results for RCB. 

RCB vs GT will be the 43rd match of the IPL. RCB has 5 more matches and potentially 3 more matches remaining in the playoffs. Let us indulge in a thought experiment.  

Let us assume Kohli has not been able to break his shackles and find form. This will result in RCB not reaching the playoffs. Or possibly, get knocked out in the eliminator or the qualifier or the final. When results matter there is a lot more pressure and we all know what this means to him. Not winning the title this year will be one more failure for RCB. One more year of expectations not being met of the IPL fans. Is this the end of the story for Virat and RCB? 

Of course not! Disappointment will eat away the fans for a while but they are a resilient bunch and will be back next year to support the team again. Virat is an exceptional batter. To repeat the oft said cliché, form is temporary, class is permanent. It is not a matter of if Virat will rediscover his form but only a matter of when. 

Kohli doesn't need any advice. Too many inputs can actually be counterproductive and make things worse. There is no actual problem to solve here. When a batter of Kohli's caliber has a string of low scores, he is bound to try too much to make things to work and to solve some technical issue which may not even exist. All it takes is one great connection between bat and ball to turn around things and Kohli rediscovering his Mojo. 

As a well-wisher of Kohli and on behalf of all his fans, I would like to give him our permission to fail. Even if he does not score one more run in this tournament, it is OK. If he does not score and RCB end up not winning the title, that's OK as well. For all RCB fans, I would like to say, it is not a question of If you will ever win the title, it is just a matter of When. With this knowledge, let us enjoy the journey without getting caught up in the destination. 

Lack of form is akin to getting stuck in quick sand. The more you try to get out in the wrong way the more firmly you get stuck and sink to the bottom. The right way out is through letting go. So let go and play with abandon. Play like results do not matter. Soon, the runs will be back and the results will follow. RCB fans back you. All Indian cricket fans back you.