India lived up to their reputation of being the king at home as they thrashed Australia in the first two games of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In the first match at Nagpur, India won by an innings and 132 runs, while the hosts won the Delhi Test by six wickets.
Despite a good performance in the first two games, there are a few negatives. Opener KL Rahul and star player Cheteshwar Pujara, who recently became the 3rd active Indian player to play 100 Test matches, are struggling for runs, and another star player, who is at the helm of criticism for his silent show with the willow is Virat Kohli.
The former India skipper has scored just 76 runs in three innings in this series, which is underwhelming to the expectations he has set over the years. Notably, Kohli has averaged just 25 in the last three years and has registered a string of poor innings in red-ball cricket.
Further, it has been over three years since Kohli last touched the three-figure mark in the longest format, which has also raised a few eyebrows, as fans feel that he is becoming a burden.
Shedding light on his scoring rate and average, Kohli has 8,195 runs in 106 Test matches. Interestingly, till 2019 end, Kohli had scored 7,202 runs at an average of 54.97, which includes 27 centuries. However, since 2020, Kohli has scored just 872 runs at an average of 27.25, with the help of six fifties and no century, which is a cause of concern. How can a player be a part of the team despite not scoring a century for over three years?
Kohli’s place in the playing XI is blocking a chance for a young player like Sarfaraz Khan. The Mumbai star is averaging over 80 in first-class cricket. However, even if there is a discussion over including him in the team, Pujara and Rahul’s names pop up. Kohli is usually kept out of that conversation, which is beyond one’s understanding.
Further, Virat’s template against spin is outdated. Spinners have dismissed him in the series against Australia. Even in the previous series against Bangladesh, he fell to tweakers twice.
Kohli’s tactics are becoming predictable, as whenever the No.18 walks out to bat, the opposition quickly calls in a spinner to get rid of him.
Notably, Virat Kohli was stumped for the first time in his Test career in the Delhi Test. Also, four of his last seven dismissals against spinners have come in the form of LBW, meaning the 34-year-old is struggling to read the line.
Shockingly, Virat had given his wickets to debutants 20 times. A fan went viral when he brought a placard reading, Don’t get out to debutants King.
Another area besides batting, where Virat struggles, is fielding. After Ajinkya Rahane’s ouster from the team, Virat has been fielding in the slip cordon, where he has dropped several catches. Fortunately for him, the dropped catches have not turned the course of the match. Recently Kohli dropped his 100th international catch.
Considering all the factors, it must be understood that sometimes leaving a format could eventually mean uplifting standards in other formats, which is the same with Virat. If Virat, similar to T20Is, also takes a break from one of the other formats, it can boost his career.