"You can't just go by reputation" - When an Indian legend made a big statement amid Virat Kohli's lean patch
Senior Team India batter Virat Kohli is under the pump after some rather underwhelming performances in Test cricket over the last few months. He failed to register a single half-century in the two-match home series against Bangladesh and crossed fifty just once in six innings against New Zealand. In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Kohli scored 190 runs in nine innings at an average of 23.75.
The former India captain scored a fluent hundred in the second innings of the opening Test in Perth. Fans and critics were confident of him having a good series after the three-figure score. Instead, Kohli went completely off the boil and failed to register a single performance of note for the rest of the series. He became meme material as he kept perishing to deliveries outside off stump.
This is not the first time the 36-year-old has endured a lean run. He averaged under 40 for three years in a row in international cricket - 2020 to 2022. Former India captain Kapil Dev shared his thoughts on Kohli's poor form in July 2022 and urged the selectors to back performance over reputation.
Kapil said while speaking to ABP News (as quoted by ESPNcricinfo):
"Play in-form players when you have loads of options. You can't just go by reputation, but you have to look for current form. You can be an established player but that doesn't mean that you will be given chances even if you fail five games in a row."
"If he isn't performing, you can't continue to keep these boys [youngsters] out. I hope there's a healthy fight for selection, the youngsters should look to outperform Kohli. But Kohli needs to think, 'yes at one point I was a big player, but I need to play like that No. 1 player again'. That's a problem for the team, it's not a bad problem," the Indian legend had gone on to add.
Kohli scored his first century in over 1,000 days in international cricket when he registered a three-figure in the Asia Cup clash against Afghanistan in Dubai in September 2022. The right-handed batter clobbered 122* off 61 balls.
Virat Kohli's poor numbers in 2024
The former India captain struggled with the willow in 2024. In 10 Tests last year, he scored 417 runs at an average of 24.52, with one hundred and one half-century to his name.
In T20Is, the 36-year-old featured in 10 matches and scored 180 runs at an average of 18 and a strike rate of 119.20. Kohli played three ODIs in 2024 and managed only 58 runs at an average of 19.33, with a best of 24.