Virat Kohli hasn’t looked at his best throughout the India vs Australia Test series despite scoring a hundred in Perth. Since that unbeaten century, Kohli has scored 21 runs in 3 innings. What’s concerning is not that the former India captain isn’t among runs but that he’s looked uncomfortable and unsure of himself in the middle. Despite his lean patch, Ravi Shastri doesn’t think Kohli’s out of form.
Virat Kohli “hungry”
The former Indian head coach feels that Kohli will be hungry after seeing his contemporaries, Steve Smith, Joe Root, and Kane Williamson, outdoing him and would be back to his best in the Boxing Day Test.
“I think they (Kohli and Smith) will have slipped down the ranks on current form because, you know, you’ve got the likes of Root taking off, there’s Williamson doing well, Harry Brook has come onto the scene; you know there are a lot of other young players pushing, but these are class players. In a situation like this, you know they’ll be dangerous because they’ll be hungry,” Shastri said on the ICC Review.
Be disciplined, Shastri’s advice to Kohli
Citing Smith‘s return to runs in Brisbane with a fine hundred, Shastri added that Kohli just needs to bide a little bit of time in the middle, and then he’ll be back to his old self.
“What’s needed you saw from Smith. It might have been a struggle early on, but he was prepared to play the waiting game and be disciplined. I think the same with Virat. If Virat gets over that first 30, 40 minutes, with serious application and discipline, I don’t think he’s (out of form), none of these guys are out of form,” Shastri added.
Virat Kohli’s Test record
| Innings | Runs | Average | 50s | 100s | Highest Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 17 | 376 | 25.06 | 1 | 1 | 100* |
| BGT 2024-25 | 5 | 126 | 31.50 | 0 | 1 | 100* |
