Virat Kohli, a household name that has given millions of Indian Cricket Team (ICT) fans immense joy over the years, the only cricketer to have had a realistic chance of matching Sachin Tendulkar’s iconic 100 tons record till now…., is now struggling for even a decent run of form.
The legendary batsman’s form has drastically changed since the turn of decade and few glimpses of his greatness were at display in 2023, especially during the ICC ODI World Cup 2023, where he was the highest run scorer of the tournament with 765 runs in 11 innings, at an impressive average of 95.63, which included 3 tons, and 6 fifties.
India, being the hosts of the tournament, were the hottest favourites to win the entire thing but they met Australia in the final at Ahmedabad, a side that, for the first time in their cricketing career, walked into the final as underdogs.
A nation that has only known the word ‘dominance’ in it’s entire cricketing history were up against arguably the greatest white-ball side of India ever, led by Rohit Sharma.
Virat Kohli, before the Asia Cup 2022 match against Afghanistan, had not scored a century since 2020, and was heavily criticised for his poor run of form.
The century against Afghanistan eased the burden and the right-handed batsman went on to play one of the most iconic cricketing knocks ever, when he scored an unbeaten 82 against Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on October 23, 2022.
The knock came at a very crucial moment for India, as India’s chances of winning the match were merely 3% (as per ESPN Cricinfo) when the side needed 28 off 8, and two consecutive sixes, followed by poor bowling from Mohammad Nawaz in the decisive last over, gifted India a famous victory against their fierce rivals.
2023 saw Virat Kohli break records after records, as he overtook Sachin Tendulkar as the cricketer with most centuries in ODI’s, and the Delhi-born cricketer reached the landmark of 80 international tons with his 100 against New Zealand in the semi-final of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 at the Wankhede Stadium on November 15.
Fast forward one year, and here we are, back to square one. Virat Kohli is on a poor run of form with the bat, and is enduring arguably his worst run ever. The 35-year old is getting beaten up on all ends, be it against a spinner, or a pacer.
Such has been the case of Virat Kohli that for a guy who was used-to scoring a ton every 4th or 5th innings…, has now recorded 25 international innings with merely 3 fifties (post 2023 ODI WC).
The main question arises is, what has happened to one of the greatest players of all time, a sudden dip in form, not reading anything.
Here’s What You Need To Know:
1.Non-Ability To Play Quality Spin: Virat Kohli has always been known to struggle against quality spin bowling and has often found himself troubled across the globe, be it in home conditions or abroad. The right-handed batsman lacks the ability to play sweep shots.
Most of the time, Virat Kohli tries to play the ball with his wrists, and such is his technical brilliance that his non-ability to play sweep gets overshadowed by his world-class wrist work.
But as seen in the New Zealand series, Virat Kohli does not go down the ground to out-do the spin or break the ball takes off the surface, resulting in him getting beaten all-ends-up.
Even during his latest dismissal, the former Indian captain failed to read the surface, as the ball was constantly taking a break, and was dismissed on a good length ball pitched on the leg stump.
Virat failed to cut the spin, and was outdone by the turn, which further led him giving a faint edge and was caught at the slips by Daryl Mitchell, who took a sharp diving catch.
2. Reflexes And Hand-Eye Co-Ordination: With age, reflexes tend to slow down and fitness is not the only thing that guarantees form. Virat Kohli is one of the fittest cricketers around the globe and what makes his fitness more surprising is the fact that he is 35 years old, and gets compared to the upcoming stars in terms of fitness and running between the wickets.
However, running between the wickets is always the latter part of the batting, as the primary objective is to hit and time the ball either for a boundary, or for a couple of runs.
The main issue with Virat Kohli is the fact he is getting beaten up and not timing the ball like he used to. His lack of fast reflexes were heavily exposed during the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, where the legendary cricketer failed to score at all (bar the final, where he played a vital knock).
On a surface where the likes of Axar Patel and Heinrich Klassen scored at will, Virat Kohli required time to settle-in and such was the demand of the situation that team India desperately needed an anchor to guide the innings beyond the par-score, which he did successfully.
Now coming to the Tests, his dismissals against Mitchell Santner and Ajaz Patel have certainly raised questions over his reflexes and the forthcoming BGT series can very well prove to be a deciding factor in his career ahead.
