As India gears up for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, all eyes will be on the out-of-form superstar batter Virat Kohli, for whom the Australian soil has been a happy hunting place over the years and has seen him dominate the hosts on multiple occasions, both as a player and a captain. While Virat has been hyped and celebrated in Australia as a superstar batter, in the past, he had the weight of runs and consistency to justify the festival-like atmosphere that comes into being the moment he lands on Australian soil. However this time around, Virat is not only fighting for form, but for his legacy in Test cricket and his spot amid a massive possibility of transition after this ICC World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
Australia star David Warner, who announced retirement from Test cricket last month, has warned the team about Kohli ahead of the five-match Test series, starting November 22 in Perth.
“This is the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and we know Virat always steps up in Australia and completely embraces that challenge like almost no one else who has ever visited our shores. There is no better way for him to come out and shut the critics up. I’m genuinely worried for the Australian cricket team that he’s going to come out and pile on some runs,” wrote in his column for Herald Sun.
This year in 19 matches across international formats, Virat has just scored 488 runs at a shockingly low average of 20.33, with just two half-centuries in 25 innings and best score of 76.
It is his downfall in Tests that has been more shocking and saddening as the numbers do not fit someone of his superstardom and skill. His form from 2016-2019 is among the greatest peaks in the longest format, having made 4,208 runs in 43 Tests and 69 innings at an average of 66.79, with 16 centuries and 10 fifties. It was during this period he smashed seven double centuries, the most by a captain in Tests, a record which still stands.
However, since 2020, Virat has faced an elongated lean patch in the whites, scoring 1838 runs from 34 Tests at an average of 31.68, comprising just two centuries and nine fifties. The batting great will aim to get back to form in the tour of Australia.
(With ANI Inputs)