"That's not a great batter's average" - Former India player makes scathing remark on Virat Kohli ahead of England Test tour 2025
Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has questioned Virat Kohli's Test legacy, pointing to his sub-50 average, ahead of the England tour in June. The 36-year-old has endured an extended lean patch in the red-ball format, averaging a dismal 23.15 over his last 11 games.
Kohli's poor form resulted in India suffering defeats in their last two Test series to New Zealand at home and Australia in Australia. The ace batter crossed 50 only twice in 15 innings at an average of only 21 across the two series.
Talking about Kohli's drop as a Test batter, Manjrekar wrote in his column for the Hindustan Times:
"The tour to England will be the most important tour Virat has ever been on. It will decide the legacy he leaves behind. Virat’s Test batting average now is 46. That’s not a great batter’s average."
He added:
"Virat himself would hate to be remembered by fans as a great one-day batter, because as we discussed one-day cricket is THE last place you will find batting excellence. By batting in the right position, Tendulkar too enjoyed plundering runs in ODIs, but he is revered because he also had 51 Test hundreds."
Kohli has scored only three centuries in his last 39 Tests (since 2020) at an average below 30 in each season except 2023. The extended lean patch has resulted in his overall Test average dropping to 46.85 after 123 matches.
"Test performances are where cricketers are crowned as greats" - Sanjay Manjrekar on Virat Kohli
![Virat Kohli has slipped massively in the Test arena over the last half-decade [Credit: Getty]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/edd15-17424507336497-1920.jpg?w=500)
In reference to Virat Kohli's recent downfall in the red-ball format, Sanjay Manjrekar remarked that Test performances should be the No.1 criteria to measure a batter's greatness. The former India cricketer also criticized the star batter's inability to overcome his outside off-stump weaknesses even after 12 years.
Kohli was dismissed caught behind the wicket, nicking deliveries outside off-stump, all eight times during the 2024-25 Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) in Australia.
"Despite its disconnect with new age cricket fans, Test performances are where cricketers are crowned as greats, and it’s right here that Virat has slipped. After that unbelievable series with the bat in Australia in 2015 and England in 2018, his weakness outside off that he has not been able to get rid of for almost 12 years has cost him his greatness," Manjrekar wrote in the same column.
Kohli still boasts impressive overall Test numbers with over 9,000 runs and 30 centuries in a 14-year red-ball career. He will look to bounce back in the five-Test series in England, starting June 20.