Virat Kohli has been one of the greatest batters of this era as he scored runs all around the globe and established himself as one of the modern-day greats in cricket. The 34-year-old is known for his free-flowing batting in all three formats of the game, establishing himself as one of the fab 4 cricketers in world cricket.
The Indian batting maestro has produced some brilliant performances for the Indian team in International Cricket, as he played some outstanding cricket all around the world in tough conditions to establish himself as one of the top cricketers in International cricket.
Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and Joe Root form the fab 4 in International Cricket. The four have started their career at the same time, and are the torchbearers for their teams in Test Cricket.
Post 2019, Virat Kohli’s form in International Cricket has dipped a bit, as he struggled to get going in all three formats of the games, as other stalwarts have performed exceptionally well than Virat Kohli in recent years. Here are 5 stats that show Virat Kohli is out of the World’s Fab 4.
1. Virat Kohli’s Major Dip In Batting Average
Virat Kohli’s red-ball form will continue to worry India’s team management as he continues to struggle in Test cricket. Kohli’s Test average peaked after his 84th Test, where he nearly averaged 55 in test cricket but has now dipped to 48.7 in 109 matches, as his average nearly come down in the span of the last couple of years. The former Indian skipper could not find his usual best in test cricket, as he failed to play a big inning for the Indian team barring the one against Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023.
Meanwhile, Joe Root and Steve Smith have drastically improved their batting in the last couple of years, as England and Australia are redefining test cricket, and the prolific New Zealander batter Kane Williamson too had a rough patch in test cricket, but did decently well for the Kiwis in their last series against England and Sri Lanka.
2. Indian Batting Maestro’s Batting Rank In ICC Ranking
Virat Kohli is known for his consistency over the years, as he performed exceedingly well for the Indian team across the formats of the game. The Indian batting maestro topped the charts of ICC batting rankings in every format of the game, as his ranking in ICC has been down in a year or so, as he found himself below the 10 in batters ranking which rare sight for a player of his standard.
He is considered India’s greatest batter of the era but his ranking of 13th in Test cricket as his form in the red-ball has gone down in some time, whereas the other three players part of the Fab 4 have maintained their ranking in the top 10, which indicates that the former Indian skipper is moving out of the race from the Fab 4.
3. Drought In Centuries In International Cricket
There have been many tough phases for Virat Kohli in International Cricket, but the phase during 2019-2022 has been a very difficult time for the Indian stalwart, as he lost his captaincy in all three formats of the game and failed to score centuries in any format of the game.
His hundred against Afghanistan in Asia Cup 2022, ended his long-awaited century in T20 Internationals and also his first century in three long years, as he was desperate to make a comeback into his usual best in all three formats of the game. Before his hundred against Afghanistan, his last century came in November 2019 against Bangladesh.
Steve Smith and Joe Root have surpassed Virat Kohli’s 28-centuries mark in International cricket in the last two years, with Kane Williamson being tied up with the former Indian skipper in centuries, playing 15 games less than him in red-ball cricket.
4. Lack Of ICC Trophy For Virat Kohli In Last Few Years
Virat Kohli was part of India’s World Cup Winning Squad in 2011 and the Champions Trophy squad in 2013, but the Indian batting maestro holds another ICC trophy to his name, despite doing well in the knockout stages of the tournament, as his team crumbled under pressure in big games of the ICC tournaments.
India has advanced to the ODI World Cup semifinals in 2015, the T20 World Cup final in 2016, the ODI World Cup final in 2019, and the 2021 and 2023 WTC Final but could not go one step further in the big tournaments.
Joe Root has won the 2019 ODI World Cup in their home conditions. Steve Smith won the 2021 T20 World Cup and 2023 WTC final and Kane Williamson led his team to the 2021 WTC final in England, where Virat Kohli his team to the ICC title in recent time.
5. Contribution To ICC World Test Championship Cycle 2021-23
Virat Kohli and the Indian top batters had very less contribution to the team’s success in qualifying for the World Test Championship, as the Indian lower-order batter made things for the Men in Blue in test cricket. Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, and Ravichandran Ashwin contributed to team success in the home and away conditions.
A player of Virat Kohli calibre has shown the ability to win the games single-handedly, which was not the case in 2021-23, as he struggled to produce match-winning performances for their side, despite providing vital runs for his team, whereas Joe Root has been the best batter for England in the cycle and Steve Smith too played a hand alongside Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labushchagne on their way to first WTC title in Kennington, Oval.