Virat Kohli’s struggles have continued across formats in 2022, is his time at the top of the sport finally coming to an end or can the King turn this form around?
Suhail and Shivaan discuss the curious case of Virat Kohli in the latest episode of Man’s Life Dressing Room.
Virat Kohli was appointed as the vice-captain of the Indian team in 2012, and handed the Test captaincy after the retirement of Mahendra Singh Dhoni from Tests in 2014. Initially playing as a back-up batsman for the Indian team, Virat Kohli quickly established himself as a regular member in the middle order in ODIs, and was a part of the squad which won the 2011 World Cup. Under former India physio Shankar Basu, Virat Kohli has followed a rigorous fitness regime in order to be one of the most physically fit cricketers across the globe. The former India captain is one of three Indian cricketers who are A+ contracted by India’s richest cricketing board, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
During the ODI Series, Kohli managed to make two half-centuries in three innings for an aggregate of 173 runs at an average of 57.67, although this saw Delhi losing the series 2-1. India came back to win the next two matches and sealed the series 2-1, the first Test captaincy series victory for Virat Kohli, and India’s first away Test series victory in four years. In the first test of the tour, played as Day/Night matches at Adelaide, Kohli scored a fluent 74 before being dismissed for an incorrect fielding call on his bowling partner Ajinkya Rahane, however, only managed four runs in the following innings, as India crumbled to a 36-all-out defeat, India’s lowest total in Test cricket history. India batsman Virat Kohli’s last international century came during a day-night Test against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens.
The crunch play. Front leg on the bouncer of short-length ball has again cost Virat Kohli wicket, says Indias former batsman Sanjay Manjrekar on Twitter. Rishabh Pant is the one cricketer to play most overs for India over the past couple of years, says source. Regular All-formats captain Rohit Sharma has played two Tests, nine T20Is and three ODIs since taking over as the full-time skipper in November. Regular all-format captains Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah are rested. However, TOI understands that Rohit, Pant and Pandya are likely to go to the Caribbean for a five-match T20I series.
As for Kohli, it will have to wait to see what the team management decides about what it needs for the T20 World Cup. Because it is really hard for people to understand your decisions if they are not in your shoes. Mental toughness gets you a long way, of course, but the technical issues cannot be ignored entirely.
Suhail Chandhok
Vertical Head - Sports