117 Tests, 9048 runs, at an average of 48.48, with 29 tons and 31 fifties. These stats are certainly of a great player, notwithstanding the era they played in. Yes, we are talking about Virat Kohli, but these numbers don’t really do justice to what he has been managing to do in Tests, in the last couple of years, where the failures have been far more than successes.
In fact, his Test average has dipped from 54-53, from the pre-2020 era to now, and his loss of form has been just inexplicable. Look, there is no debate if he is the greatest ever batsman, but then he is unable to perform when the team is in need, especially during the IND vs NZ series, where we are on the verge of losing a Test series after a gap of 12 years, at home.
Virat Kohli’s Test Struggles Since 2020
In the Covid year, 2020, Virat Kohli played three Tests and scored 116 runs at an average of 19. The next year saw him play 11 Tests and score 536 runs at an average of 28, with four fifties. 2022, he was poor, with 265 runs in 6 matches at an average of 26. This year, he has played 5 and scored 228 at an average of 28. The only good year in between was 2023, where he smashed two hundreds in eight matches, and scored 671 runs at an average of 56.
Ravindra Jadeja’s Returns Better than Virat’s
In certain senses, Ravindra Jadeja, India’s premier all-rounder has fared much better. You see, not only Jaddu usually bats and No. 7, No. 8 or even No. 9 at times, but his returns with the bat, in comparison to Virat, are better. In 2020, in the two matches, Jadeja had 82 runs at an average of 41. Cut to 2021, he scored 269 runs in 7 matches, at an average of 24. Then in 2022, Ravindra Jadeja scored 328 runs in three matches, at an average of 82. He had more runs than Virat.
Come 2023, he had 281 runs in 7 matches at an average of 35, and this year, he has 369 runs in 9 matches, again more runs than Virat. In short, in this period, Virat Kohli has played 57 Test innings and scored 1816 runs at an average of 31.8. While on the other hand, Jaddu has scored 1329 runs in 41 innings at an average of 32.41.
Given the number he bats at, and the chances he gets, it is safe to say, that in Tests, Ravindra Jadeja has been a better batsman for India than Virat Kohli.
