Virat Kohli’s scores in three innings of the five-match Test series against England are 0, 42, and 20 so far. Across formats, the India skipper hasn’t scored a century since November 2019 and has also slipped to the 5th spot in the ICC Test rankings as a batsman.
As the Indian cricket team continues to scale new heights under Virat Kohli’s captaincy, the Indian skipper’s century drought continues as he is yet to score a big knock in the ongoing 5-match series against Joe Root-led England. Former Indian pacer Ajit Agarkar backed the Indian captain saying he cannot be written off as a result of his scores in the last three innings.
Virat Kohli Can’t Be Written Off After Only 3 Innings: Ajit Agarkar
At a press conference, Ajit Agarkar lauded Virat Kohli as a modern-day great and said he cannot be written off based on scores in his last three innings.
“Let’s wait and see, but in three innings you do not want to write someone off who has been a modern-day great,” Agarkar said.
After witnessing a forgettable tour to England in 2014, Virat Kohli bounced back in the 2018 series against The Three Lions, something which Ajit Agarkar went on to highlight.
“Virat Kohli got runs against England in the 2018 series with all their bowlers available. He got a great ball from James Anderson in the first Test, fought hard for his 40 odd in the second Test.
“You bowl an outswinger to batsmen in the corridor, they will knick the ball. These are conditions where the ball does swing and seam around. Bowling on the fourth stump is very difficult to play for most batsmen,” he added.
Virat Kohli was dismissed for a duck in the first innings of the first Test by James Anderson and was looking good in the second Test before he was removed on 42 by Ollie Robinson in the first innings of the Lord’s Test and on 20 by left-arm pacer Sam Curran.
Ajit Agarkar: Virat Kohli Will Like To Get Big Runs
Ajit Agarkar added that since Virat Kohli has not scored many runs lately, his dismissal against Sam Curran would be because he himself wanted to score some runs.
“When a bowler is in good spell, that Sam Curran ball in the second innings of the Lord’s Test was good deception. I am sure Kohli will like to get runs and all fans would like him to get big runs. The guy has got enough runs in international cricket, and maybe when you do not get runs, you are eager to get into the series, that might have happened,” he added.
Under Virat Kohli’s leadership, the visitors produced a memorable comeback in the Lord’s Test to win the contest by 151 runs. High on confidence with the comprehensive win, India would look to win the second Test beginning from August 25 to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 5-match series.
Virat Kohli in the past had opened up about his struggles with form and his mental well-being during the tour of England in 2014. The Indian skipper had a horrific series where he ended up scoring only 134 runs from four Tests. He averaged only 13, with scores of 1, 8, 25, 0, 39, 28, 0, 7, 6, and 20.
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.