Virat Kohli registered scores of 1, 8, 25, 0, 39, 28, 0, 7, 6, and 20 in the five Tests in England tour in 2014. The five-match Test series in England in 2014 still remains one of the toughest phases in Virat Kohli’s international career.
James Anderson was Virat Kohli’s nemesis during the 2014 series as he constantly troubled him with nagging lines outside the off-stump. Ravi Shastri, who took over as India’s Team Director right after that disastrous tour, said Virat Kohli was “in a state of shock” and “reeling.”
Virat Kohli Was In A State Of Shock And Was Reeling From England’s Disastrous 2014 Tour Because Of Poor Form: Ravi Shastri
The former all-rounder, who did not continue as India’s head coach after the 2021 T20 World Cup, said he knew “there was enough there” for Virat Kohli to get back to his usual best.
“Once I came on board, my first challenge was to identify someone who could walk the talk and I found in Virat Kohli the guy with the character, game, and personality to step into Dhoni’s shoes.”
“Virat was reeling from that tour of England because he hardly got runs. He was in a state of shock the way things had turned out. But you could see there was still enough there to get him going. Once he was back on his feet, there would be no looking back,” Ravi Shastri said in an interview.
Ravi Shastri then described how Virat Kohli slowly got his confidence back after he had worked out a few batting techniques.
“I began watching him very closely. The more closely I saw him, I could see his sense of confidence returning back with each day. Those initial two three months went in getting to know the team better. We began talking a lot, on various issues – batting techniques, the path forward, lot of things,” he added.
The Indian skipper had a horrific series where he ended up scoring only 134 runs from four Tests in England tour in 2014. He averaged only 13, with scores of 1, 8, 25, 0, 39, 28, 0, 7, 6, and 20. Post the disastrous tour, Virat Kohli had a successful outing in Australia later that year, having amassed colossal 692 runs in four matches at a healthy average of 86.50.
Virat Kohli Came Back Roaring In The Australia Tour In 2014-15
Virat Kohli back roaring back to form in the next Australia tour in 2014-15. The prolific right-hander, who was also named India’s Test captain in the middle of that four-match series, scored 692 runs at an average of 86.50 that included four hundred.
“And I think, it really came to the surface in Australia, when he finally bought into everything we discussed. He was absolutely ready to walk that talk – not just in the way he played his game but the way we wanted the team to play,” Shastri said.
India lost that series 2-0 but Ravi Shastri felt the team had played some really good cricket with Virat Kohli at the forefront of it all.
“He set the bar really high on that tour, got four centuries and a fifty. We lost that series 2-0 but I still remember Alan Border walking up to me at the end of the series in Sydney and saying: “Rav, well-done man. Not many teams bat out the last day to save Test matches at the colosseums, which are Melbourne and Sydney.”
“And mind you, this after a close first Test in which he got a hundred in each innings and really cemented the way he wanted to play in Australia – a good, aggressive brand of cricket. The way we went for the chase of 360-plus on the final day of that Test showed what kind of cricket we wanted to play,” Shastri said.
Virat Kohli had contrasting tours of England in 2014 and 2018. In 2014, he managed only 134 runs in five Tests at a poor average of 13.40. Four years later, he hammered 593 runs in the five-Test series. Virat Kohli averaged 59.30 with two hundred in 2018.