Right before former India captain Virat Kohli had begun to put an end to an elongated lean patch last year, former batter Virender Sehwag had surmised that his weak eyesight could’ve played a part in not letting him find his peak again. Cricket, a sport which heavily relies on hand-eye coordination especially for batters, takes a toll on their eyesight more often than not.
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Speaking to former batter Sanjay Manjrekar on Sports 18‘s special series called ‘Home Of Heroes’, Sehwag had laid emphasis on how eyesight, which isn’t among major cricketing injuries as such, can still be lethal enough to hamper a batter’s progress. He even revealed how Kohli’s eye prescription has increased over the years.
“Toh mujhe lagta hai ki could be ho sakta hai, ki woh problem zaroor ho sakti hai kyunki maine woh problem face ki hai ki aapko length kayi baar judge nahi hoti jab aapki eyesight kamzor hoti hai. Aur mujhe poori umeed hai ki shayad woh regular apna checkup aankhon ka karwaate honge, best doctor se woh treatment lete honge. Yeh reason nahin hona chahiye Virat Kohli ke liye but shayad mujhe lagta hai ki kahi na kahi bilkul possible hai [I think that weak eyesight might be an issue as I had also faced the same. Sometimes, it’s even difficult to judge the length of the ball because of weak eyesight. I’m sure that he must be consulting the best doctor for his eyes. This might not be the reason behind Kohli’s failure but there is certainly a possibility of it],” Sehwag told Sports18.
Readers must note how Sehwag also recollected Kohli offering him his contact lenses when he had faced the same issue for the first time. Sehwag, whose last two international matches as a 34-year old player had come in the form of home Tests against Australia over a decade ago, was spotted batting with specs in Chennai and Hyderabad. During the same conversation, he also disclosed to be in regular consultation with a chiropractor during India’s tour of Australia 2011-12.
Post Sehwag, Even Muralitharan Opined On Virat Kohli’s Eyesight
While promoting his biopic titled ‘800’ in India last month, even the legendary Muttiah Muralitharan had opined on Virat Kohli’s eyesight during his appearance on The Ranveer Show. Answering the host’s query around whether Kohli can play for another 10 years at the top level, Muralitharan explained how an international cricketer requires more than optimum physical fitness to sustain.
Not that Muralitharan found faults with Kohli’s eyesight, it’s just that he highlighted how reflexes start to slow down after a certain age. He talked about how he himself felt that the end of his career was nearing post touching 40. Weak eyesight, for one, is quite an uncontrollable issue which is almost impossible to cure.
“How fit you are does not matter, right? Your eyesight, your things will slow down. Once you slow down, you’re not going to be the same personality,” Muralitharan answered.
For anyone who has followed Kohli even in a bare minimum manner in all these years, it’s very evident that he has been using contact lenses for a very long time now. Before Kohli, other former Indian captains such as Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly also used to wear contact lenses.
That said, it will be pretty interesting to see Kohli joining the likes of high-profile international cricketers namely Geoffrey Boycott, Clive Lloyd, Zaheer Abbas, Daniel Vettori etc. in terms of wearing specs in an international game. Speaking of the current players, New Zealand all-rounder Mitchell Santner and Pakistan batter Imam-ul-Haq also wear eyeglasses during matches.
