When Virat Kohli scored a hundred in the second innings of the Perth Test, it seemed returning to Australia has done the trick for the batting legend and he is back at his best. But what followed after that was a trend too familiar over the last few years.
Besides his 100 not out in Perth, Kohli scored just 90 runs in his other innings combined across the five Tests of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, which India lost 1-3 after the six-wicket defeat in Sydney on Sunday.
For his 190 runs in 9 innings, Kohli averaged a meager 23.75 — which has once again led to questions whether India’s persistence with Kohli is based on his reputation as a batting legend.
“India doesn’t need superstar culture, India needs team culture,” said former India allrounder Irfan Pathan on Star Sports, talking about Kohli’s poor run since 2020.
He also questioned what has stopped Kohli from playing domestic cricket for 12 years. He last played in 2012.
“Tell me one thing. When last did Virat Kohli play domestic cricket, even despite being free (not on national duty), when did it happen?” Irfan asked. “It’s been so long…Even the great Sachin Tendulkar played (domestic cricket) after that (2012). He didn’t have to but still he played because of things like spending time on the wicket, fielding for four days, bat again in the second innings…”
Looking at Kohli’s Test numbers since 2024, he has played 39 matches and scored 2028 runs, including only three centuries, at an average of 30.72.
Irfan pointed out those numbers and said even a young batter can match that if given a long run.
“He has made a lot of runs, but in 2024, batting in the first innings where you set up the match, Kohli averages just 15. If we take out his stats for the last five years, he barely averages 30,” said Irfan. “Does the Indian team deserve that from its senior player? It’s better to give a youngster a long run, tell him to get ready; even that guy will maintain a batting average of 25-30.”
He said nothing can be taken away from what Kohli has done for the country and the mountain of runs he has erected, which includes 81 international hundreds. But the fact that he has been unable to sort himself out and getting dismissed in the same fashion repeatedly is Test cricket is unacceptable.
“We are talking about the team here, not individuals. When we are talking about Virat Kohli, we are not degrading him…He has done remarkable things for India, performed a lot of times. But you are getting out committing the same mistake again and again…the technical mistake that Sunny (Gavaskar) sir also mentioned. You are not trying to improve that,” said the T20 World Cup winner.
Irfan also questioned what stops the Indian batters, including Kohli, to seek advice from the legendary Sunil Gavaskar.
“Sunny sir is right here (in Australia). How much time does it take to reach out and ask him ‘sir, what can I do (to correct myself). Improving mistakes requires hard work, which isn’t showing (in Kohli’s case),” he reckoned.
