The former Indian captain, Virat Kohli, has finished the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 in a struggling manner as the right-handed batter ends the five-match series with the help of 190 runs in nine innings at an average of 23.75 with the best score of unbeaten 100 runs. The mode of dismissals from the start of the series at the Optus Stadium in Perth to the fifth encounter at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) continued to be the same.
After the dismissal of Virat Kohli in the pink-ball Test, he was visibly very unhappy, punching his thigh and yelling at himself. The same mistake of going after the balls outside the off-stump keeps on putting pressure on the veteran.
In the first innings of the Perth Test, he was looking to guide the short ball from Josh Hazlewood and got a faint edge into the hands of the wicket-keeper, Alex Carey. When he celebrated 100* in the second innings of the same encounter, many felt that the batter perhaps had gotten his old touchback after the end of his poor home series against New Zealand with the help of 91 runs in six innings with the help of one half-century in Bengaluru.
Virat Kohli is in ‘no mood’ to retire from Test cricket- reports
In the first innings of the second day-night affair at the Adelaide Oval, Virat Kohli wasn’t convinced whether to play the short ball from Mitchell Starc and ended up getting a faint edge into the hands of the keeper. In the second inning, he leaned forward to get an outside edge against Scott Boland.
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The issue continued into the third encounter at the Gabba in Brisbane. In the lone innings, the 36-year-old went for a booming drive against Hazlewood on the sixth stump line to find the slip fielder. He was quite attentive during the fourth Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) but ended up getting dismissed in the same manner in both innings.
The ground changed to Sydney, but not the fortune of the batter. The recent reports of PTI have expressed that Virat Kohli has set his goal high and is in no mood to retire currently. He is preparing himself to play in the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. But the concerns have been raised regarding his preparations for the upcoming five-match Test series in England.
The reports have pointed out that it would be incredibly hard for the selectors to pick him and the captain Rohit Sharma on the basis of the IPL performances or form. They have to turn for a few games in preparation for the lead-up to the trip.
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The Delhi-born hasn’t shown any interest in opting for the Ranji Trophy clash, as he denied being part of the recent Duleep Trophy game while the others made their appearances. His team is set to face Saurashtra in Rajkot on January 23, but the question stands if Virat Kohli will turn out for the fixture amidst the packed schedule, as they will also have to be ready for white-ball games at home against England and the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025.
The ICC event will end a week before the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, where Virat Kohli is expected to return as a leader for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The only other option for him is to play a few India A games ahead of the beginning of the England tour.