The ongoing year hasn’t been healthy for Virat Kohli with the bat in hand in the longest format of the game, as he has notched up only 245 runs in ten innings at an average of 27.22 and a strike rate of over 70 with the help of just one solitary half-century at a best score of 70. Apart from one or two off knocks, he hasn’t been able to get a crack.
Virat Kohli was part of the first Test of the year against South Africa, before missing the five-match red-ball series at home against England due to personal reasons. He didn’t have a great time in the Bangladesh series at home before extending the poor time against New Zealand.
The former Indian captain had an excellent time in the previous year when he smashed 671 runs in just 12 innings at an average of over 55 and a strike rate of 54 with the help of two centuries and two half-centuries. In the first of the three-match series against New Zealand in Bengaluru, he was troubled by the short ball in the first innings.
Dinesh Karthik suggests this to Virat Kohli to regain his form back
Mitchell Santer got the better of Virat Kohli twice in Pune during the second fixture where he missed a low full toss on the first occasion before being adjusted leg before the stumps in the following innings. The poor form has emerged to be one of the reasons for their first Test series defeat at home for the first time since 2012/13.
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The former Indian wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik has slammed the pattern of dismissals for the Delhi-born where he has become too much vulnerable against both the off-spinners and the left-arm spinners. The team-mate of the batter in the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and the national side has suggested he find a quick solution for that.
“Virat Kohli has not had it easy, the series has not been good to him, three out of four innings, he has disappointed. It’s a recurring pattern where spinners have troubled him, and I think he will go and figure out what he needs to do to come out stronger. He is a man, who is searching for answers.” The former Tamil Nadu batter expressed during an interaction on Cricbuzz at the end of the Pune Test match.
In the second inning, the batter started well but once the runs dried up, the pressure seemed to get the better of him. Santner kept on bowling at the same position for a long spell and the defensive shots for such a long period finally got the better of him.
“When you reach that level of genius and superstardom, you will be thrown challenges, and here is another challenge. India likes to play on pitches that aid spin, what is his game plan?” Karthik slammed.
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The veteran has remarked that Virat Kohli should look to go back to domestic cricket in order to get back his mojo against the spinners. The last time he featured in a Ranji game for Delhi, the year was 2013.
“We all know what he is capable of, this series was not meant to be. Like the fans have been saying, he has not done it for a long time, and we cannot run away from it. We don’t want to sugarcoat it because we want to be as objective in assessing any player, any performance, at the moment Virat Kohli’s Test record in the last 2-3 years, has not been great against spin.” Dinesh Karthik concluded as the batter will look to finish the three-match series in a better way at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.