Ravi Shastri expects Virat Kohli to have a "much calmer mind" when he returns at the Asia Cup and backed the former India captain to silence his critics.
Kohli has been given a break after failing to end his run drought on the tour of England last month, only managing a top score of 20 from six innings.
The ex-skipper has not made an international hundred since he reached three figures in a Test against Bangladesh in November 2019.
Kohli was recalled for the Asia Cup and is set to be back at the crease in a clash with fierce rivals Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.
Former India captain Shastri thinks the 33-year-old batter can reap the rewards of taking some time off.
Shastri said: "It is not rocket science. Mental fatigue can creep into the best in the world. This down time was not just needed for his body but to reflect.
"He will come back with a much calmer mind. He gets 50 in the first game, mouths will be shut. Public memory is very short and works both ways.
"There is no cricketer fitter than him. People keep saying one innings can make a difference, but with a player like Kohli it makes a massive difference.
"His hunger and passion remains undiminished. He would have learnt from this phase, let me tell you that."
India head coach Rahul Dravid was unable to fly out to Dubai with the squad on Tuesday after testing positive for coronavirus.
South Africa v Netherlands preview: Proteas looking to secure World Cup berth
South Africa will face the Netherlands in two ODIs that could define their entire year, aiming to seal their place at the World Cup.
Following an exciting but disappointing 2-1 defeat against West Indies, the Proteas need to win both matches against the Dutch and hope Ireland lose at least one of their three clashes with Bangladesh in May.
The top eight teams in the World Cup Super League automatically qualify for the World Cup in India, with the bottom five needing to go through further qualifiers with five associate teams.
South Africa sit in 10th place, behind West Indies (eighth) and Sri Lanka (ninth), and ahead of Ireland in 11th, but two victories will take them up to eighth.
Their matches against the Dutch will be the conclusion of a three-match series that was supposed to take place in late 2021, but following no result in the first contest, the second two were postponed due to concerns around a COVID-19 variant.
Now that those matches are due to be played, South Africa find themselves needing to take them seriously and have selected a strong squad accordingly.
Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, David Miller and Aiden Markram are among those to have been made available by Cricket South Africa despite their impending involvement in the IPL.
"We have named our strongest possible squad for these games given the importance of these matches in the context of qualifying for the ICC men's Cricket World Cup," South Africa's white-ball coach Rob Walter said.
"We have a job to do and I am confident that with this group of players, we can get the job done."
The Netherlands bring the same squad that lost 2-1 in Zimbabwe, which included a dramatic one-run victory for the hosts in Harare in the second of their three encounters.
Roelof van der Merwe could feature for the first time since the first match of this series against the nation he used to represent.
Fast bowlers Paul van Meekeren and Fred Klaassen returned against Zimbabwe, but the Dutch will be without Brandon Glover, Bas de Leede and Colin Ackermann due to county commitments.
De Kock looking to emulate Williamson and Warner
Quinton de Kock (5,949) is just 51 runs away from becoming the seventh player to score 6,000 for South Africa in men's ODIs.
Should he do so in the first match against the Netherlands, he will be the joint-third fastest player (139 matches) to reach the landmark in the history of the format with New Zealand's Kane Williamson and Australia's David Warner.
Dutch looking for another rare win
While they sit comfortably bottom of the World Cup Super League, the Netherlands can at least take solace in getting a rare win in their series against Zimbabwe.
Their three-wicket victory on March 21 was the only win of their last 18 men's ODIs (L17).
South Africa fall short of another big run chase as Windies take series
West Indies avoided a repeat of their remarkable, record-breaking defeat in the second T20I against South Africa by clinging on to win the series decider by seven runs.
The Windies had been on the wrong end of a historic run chase in the sides' previous encounter, the highest scoring Twenty20 match since the format was introduced.
But there would be no repeat in Johannesburg on Tuesday, even if Reeza Hendricks again made life difficult for the tourists after another strong Windies score of 220-8.
Hendricks was credited by centurion Quinton de Kock with inspiring the Proteas fightback in the second match, having contributed 68 off just 28 balls.
Missing De Kock's support, it was a one-man effort this time as Hendricks scored 83 off 43, not quite enough with South Africa falling short on 213-6.
West Indies had posted the second-highest T20I total not to include a single fifty but were also themselves grateful for the work of one batter in particular.
In a blockbuster conclusion to the first innings, Romario Shepherd had scored 26 from the final over to top-score with 44 from only 22 balls – the knock that ultimately proved the difference.
Phenomenal finish sees Windies safe
South Africa handed the ball to Kagiso Rabada with some confidence ahead of the 20th over, with the bowling superstar having restricted the Windies to 2-24 from his previous three overs.
Yet Shepherd, twice put down by De Kock, smashed Rabada all around the ground to set a daunting target. As a result, the Proteas needed to match Shepherd with 26 off the last but could only manage 18.
Repeat proves beyond Proteas
While Hendricks remained in the middle, it appeared very possible South Africa would pull off another stunning recovery. It would have been a record-breaking fifth successful 200-run chase in the format.
However, West Indies kept their nerve, crucially having Hendricks caught by captain Rovman Powell at long on in the 19th over. The Windies still have not lost a T20I series in South Africa, with two wins and a draw.
South Africa hero De Kock credits 'silent assassin' Hendricks
Quinton de Kock lauded "silent assassin" Reeza Hendricks after the pair put on 152 to kick-start South Africa's record run chase against West Indies.
South Africa beat the Windies by six wickets at Centurion on Sunday, chasing down a target of 259.
It marked the record successful run chase in a T20I, while De Kock (100 from 44 deliveries) hit the fastest 50 in the shortest format for South Africa, with his half-century coming from just 15 balls.
De Kock, supported ably by Hendricks (68), took the fight to Windies from the off, with the Proteas reaching 102-0 by the end of the first powerplay. It is the highest powerplay total in a T20I involving a full-member nation.
Hendricks picked up the slack after De Kock's dismissal at the hands of Raymon Reifer (1-42), and the latter put the credit on his fellow opener.
"It was quite special. Reeza was the silent assassin," said De Kock, whose century was his first in T20Is.
"When I got out he said, 'We just did something really special and we should be proud of what we've done'.
"We have played together for so long. We know what he can do."
Asked about his approach, De Kock added: "Just pick the right options and play with a bit of hope. Playing at Centurion, we know we can get a lot of runs here."
South Africa captain Aiden Markram finished the job with 38 runs from 21 balls, and said both teams can be proud of being involved in such a thrilling encounter, with 81 boundaries plundered between the sides.
"It was a great game to be a part of," said Markram. "All in all I think both teams can appreciate it."
Johnson Charles' sublime 118 from 46 deliveries set the Windies on their way to a big total that seemed set to be enough to see the tourists take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
Charles' century came off just 39 balls, a new record for a Windies player.
"It was pretty, pretty crazy. When we came off halfway, we thought we had enough," said West Indies captain Rovman Powell.
"But credit to Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks. They applied pressure from ball one.
"We tell [Johnson] to go hard. We give him a licence to hit. He played very well today.
"This is the seventh game I've been on the T20 circuit that we scored 240 or 250 runs and we lost so I'm quite used to it now."
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