"How many players have got a hundred in the series?" - Virat Kohli's childhood coach doesn't believe batter is out of form in BGT 2024-25
Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma feels it would be unfair to say that the batter is out of form after a couple of failures in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Pointing out that the 36-year-old has a century in the Test series, Sharma backed him to bounce back strongly soon.
Kohli began BGT 2024-25 with a score of five in Perth. He, however, followed it up with an unbeaten 100 as India beat Australia by 295 runs in the opening Test. The right-handed batter, though, hasn't played a single innings of note since then. In the first innings of the ongoing Brisbane Test, he was out for three.
Speaking to news agency PTI, Sharma disagreed with the general notion in cricketing circles that Kohli seems to be out of rhythm with the bat:
"He (Kohli) has been performing well since 2008. It will be unfair to say that he is out of form on the basis of two innings. He has already scored a hundred in this series. How many players have got a hundred in the series?"
Sharma also disagreed with batting legend Sunil Gavaskar's suggestion that Kohli must take a leaf out of Sachin Tendulkar's 241 in the 2004 Sydney Test and refrain from playing the cover drive:
"Sunil Gavaskar has been a great player, and his suggestions are always welcomed, but I hope he suggests others also about their batting."
Kohli's childhood coach also dismissed suggestions that technical flaws have crept into the former Indian captain's game. He also revealed that he has spoken to the batter but refused to divulge details of the same to PTI.
"Nothing to do with the technique or even the mind. He is mature enough and understands the game. We have been talking to each other and talked something that I wouldn't say in public. But he is a mature enough player and knows where he is going wrong. He will bounce back, and you'll see that in the series itself," Sharma added.
Kohli has been criticized for constantly chasing deliveries outside off stump and giving his wicket away in the ongoing Test series against Australia.
Virat Kohli's Test career on the decline
While Kohli has shown glimpses of brilliance in red-ball cricket, such moments have been few and far in between in recent years. Since the start of 2020, the right-handed batter has featured in 37 Tests and has scored 1,964 runs at an average of 186, with three hundreds. Overall, playing in his 121st Test, he has scored 9,166 runs at an average of 47.49, with 30 tons.