Virat Kohli’s batting condition is looking really bad. His batting graph has dropped. Especially from the figures that have come out for the last 3 years, the whole picture seems to be clear. What to talk about on foreign soil when during this time Kohli’s game is bad even on home grounds. It was as if a snake had smelled Virat’s batting against spin, which is considered the strength of Indian batsmen. In such a situation, the question is whether Virat Kohli should leave Test cricket also?
What happened to Virat Kohli in Pune Test?
In the first innings of Pune Test, only 1 run came from Virat Kohli’s bat. He scored these runs facing 9 balls. Now there are two-three things worth noting here. Firstly, he never plays the kind of shots he got out. Secondly, he became the victim of the left arm spinner. And thirdly, he was again seen getting trapped in the illusion of spin on home soil.
Virat Kohli played the worst shot of his career- Manjrekar
It is not a new thing for a batsman to make wrong shot selection. But, Virat Kohli was out playing a shot which he never played. In the words of former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, this was the worst shot of his life.
Oh dear! Virat will know himself that he has just played the worst shot of his career to get out. Got to feel for himcoz as always he came out with solid & honest intent.
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) October 25, 2024
It’s not just the bad shots that are stressful
But the worry is not just about that bad shot of Virat Kohli, but what is even more stressful is his dismissal against left-arm bowlers and losing wickets against spin on home ground. Since the year 2021, the graph of Virat Kohli’s batting against spin on home grounds has been seen getting worse from bad to worse.
Virat Kohli VS Spin (home ground, 2012 to 2020)
If we look at Virat Kohli’s batting from 2012 to 2020, during this period his average against spin at home was 74.64. He scored 1866 runs in 54 innings and was out against spinners only 25 times in those 8 years, out of which left-arm spinners took his wicket only 5 times.
Virat Kohli VS Spin (Home, 2021 till now)
But, after the year 2021, the situation did not remain the same. In the 22 Test innings played on home soil since 2021, Virat Kohli has thrown his wicket against spin 19 times, out of which left-arm spinners have dismissed him 9 times. During this period he has scored only 573 runs at an average of 30.2.
It is clear that in the last 3 years, the condition of Virat Kohli’s batting against spin on home soil has shown something which was not the case at all in the previous 8 years. Now in such a situation questions will definitely arise.
