"His judgment of length, whether it’s spin or pace, has gone down"- Sanjay Manjrekar on Virat Kohli's lean Test run ahead of 2024-25 BGT
Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar feels Virat Kohli's lack of proper judgment of length has resulted in his recent lean patch in Test cricket. With the five-Test series between India and Australia down under starting in a week, all eyes are on Kohli to see if he can turn his form around.
The 36-year-old hit rock bottom in India's most recent 0-3 home Test series loss to New Zealand, scoring under 100 runs in six innings at a dismal average of 15.50. Kohli has scored only the lone half-century in Tests this year with an average of under 23 in six outings.
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Manjrekar addressed the worry about Kohli's batting, calling out the predominant front-foot play in recent times.
"His judgment of length, whether it’s spin or pace, has gone down. It’s not as great as it used to be. That comes back to him. He was one of India’s best players of spin, and played a lot off the back foot. Now there’s a lot of front-foot play in everything he does, so his perception of length has not been great. That’s a reason he doesn’t have the kind of numbers he’s had in the past," he said.
Manjrekar added:
"Once he’s on the front foot, the balls he used to cut and pull off the back foot he was defending. He’s just made his own life more difficult. Clearly, in that series (New Zealand), because the conditions were such [that] he wasn’t feeling confident or hopeful, he wasn’t trusting his defense, he was slightly nervous of mind and uncertain."
Kohli has scored only two Test centuries in 34 matches since 2020, with his average being under 30 in four of the last five seasons.
"This will suit him" - Sanjay Manjrekar on Australian pitches
Sanjay Manjrekar expects Virat Kohli to rediscover his form in the upcoming series down under, highlighting the Australian pitches as the reason.
The 36-year-old has often thrived against the red-ball in Australia, averaging an excellent 54.08 in 13 matches.
"This will suit him. Turning pitches, low bounce, the ball coming slowly off the pitch, everything is not quite as ideal. The way he batted in South Africa against a good attack – South African pitches are even more difficult than Australian pitches because there’s lateral movement right through. He handled that really well," said Manjrekar.
He concluded:
"I would say forget about the home series. South Africa is quite recent. I would urge people to have a look at his numbers there. He looked India’s best player by far that trip. I’m looking that as evidence of what we can expect from Virat in Australia."
Kohli scored 172 runs at an average of 43 the last time India played an away Test series in South Africa. Despite the pitches being highly challenging, the veteran batter showed incredible defiance to help India walk away with a 1-1 drawn outcome.