Virat Kohli will start scoring again, it’s a matter of time: Robin Uthappa

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Robin Uthappa was one of the openers who showed daredevilry with his famous ramp shot at the Oval against England in 2007. At times, Uthappa looked ahead of his time with his walking hit over the bowler's head and his innovative style often caught attention. Moneycontrol spoke to the 2007 World Cup winning opener on a range of topics related to the ongoing Asia Cup.

Edited excerpts of the interaction.

Whenever we talk about the India-Pakistan games, 2007 T20 World Cup comes to everyone’s mind, what is so special about India Pakistan game? One game is already over in this tournament and two more are likely to come up (one on September 4 and one in the final.

It’s so special that you cannot put a finger on it… The rivalry has been so much for so long that it just brings hype to the game. I think that’s what makes the game so much more exciting. When you are growing up and want to play for the country, you always want to be a part of the India-Pakistan game… it does live up to the hype initially, but after the first couple of games you realise that the best way to go about that game is to treat it like just another game. I think that’s what most of the players have done in the past.

There is always a great build-up to any India-Pakistan game and former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis had tweeted before the tournament that the Indian team will be relieved not to see Shaheen Shah Afridi. Similarly, your old friend Irfan Pathan replied that Jasprit is not there and Harshal Patel will also be not there. How do you look at these comments? Is it like trying to heat things up?

It’s just the hype that builds up around the game… but the hype happens outside the field. The players know what goes on the field and what happens between the 22 yards is what matters. Their focus would be on that to do well there. Definitely, there is a little bit of hype and you know it’s not that it doesn’t reach the players but the better ones actually focus on the process. It is good that are playing against each other three times so that you get all that hype out of the way… I think by the second game the facade of the hype will fall away and the players will focus more on the performance in winning the match for the team.

You were recently in Harare, Zimbabwe, commentating in that series. What were your impressions of this Indian team, the T20 set up, even if some of the key players were not there?

Well, I think it’s a great white-ball side. There is a lot of talent in our country and we are blessed with that. Having said that, there are big guns and it’s important to have them in these big tournaments. And I’m glad we have a full side and certain that all of them are keen and looking forward to every competition that’s going to happen in each game. This Indian team will be a lot of fun to watch.

An interesting debate has been going on regarding Virat Kohli’s lack of a hundred. The moment you speak about Virat Kohli it seems people get polarised, pro Virat, anti Virat… How do you look at it?

I think it’s such an unnecessary kind of conversation. For someone who has served the country for so long if we keep saying that has not got 100 in three years, you have to understand a big part of those three years were Covid.

In my opinion, leave the man alone. He knows how to get his runs, if he feels to speak to someone he will and I am certain he has. It is a very humbling experience to go through, you know, to not be able to score the runs, because the standards he sets for himself and the rest of the world and for us who watch him play and who want him to succeed, are so high that we feel that what he’s doing right now isn’t scoring runs but I feel we will see that part of Virat again, it’s a matter of time. It’s just about him finding that space for himself and I think we just got to be patient with him.

Have you noticed a subtle change in your old friend Rohit Sharma‘s batting because earlier he was regarded as a different template in ODI cricket? Now suddenly you see Rohit going from the word go, from the first ball, which was unusual for someone like him.

I think as a leader he has to inspire and I think in the past every time he’s been captain he has probably found himself in a place where he has been a little bit more circumspect than he used to be when was not the captain. I think you want to check the full part of his game. He is being a little careful out the window and just playing with freedom. I think that approach is good, it will inspire the other guys to also play positively and to do well.