Is Kohli’s time running out?

Virat Kohli as we all know is one of the premier batsman of the current era. He is rated among the fab-4, a marketing gimmick that is aimed towards increased viewership and nothing else, consistently. The quality of innings that Kohli has played will make jaws drop in sheer awe. His exploits, be it in red-ball cricket or white-ball cricket are legendary. No wonder, the fans are crazy about him and the very name, sends shivers down the spine of the opponent bowlers. However, his numbers of late, especially in Test cricket, is worrying. He is aged 35 and at that age, the eyesight and reflex will begin to slow down. Is Kohli’s time running out?

Kohli had an extraordinary slump for close to 4 years. Save for a few cameos, he wasn’t the usual Kohli whom the bowlers dreaded. He more or less became a walking wicket. Every cricketer is stuck by bad form atleast once or twice during their career but Kohli’s slump was much more drastic. He couldn’t score those hundreds that he used to at will during his halcyon years. Some of his innings during that period, the 74 at Adelaide and another 50 at Chennai rank turner reminded everyone what they were missing.

Was he playing too much cricket? Was he tired and need a lengthy break from the game? The expectations upon Kohli was and will always be very high. He has shown every Indian supporter that you can always trust him to pull the team out of any bother or make an impregnable score even more solid.

Slump across formats

The form slump would not have be glaring if he had continued with his usual flamboyance in ODI and T20. For someone who scored so fluently, to find himself without a hundred in 4 years, suddenly, the pressure grew to dangerous proportions. It is not a joke to be average in excess of 50 in both ODI and T20. It showed the calibre of the man. Everything went into a tailspin from where Kohli just did not know how to come out. Though he has regained reasonable amount of form in ODI, he had a stellar 2023 ODI World Cup campaign with several hundreds, his Test form is still a worry. After his broke the drought of lack of hundreds against Australia at Ahmedabad, his returns have been decent but is it enough? That is the question that rankles every Indian supporter.

What is further surprising is the fact that every type of bowler is now troubling Kohli. Spinners whom he used to eat for breakfast, come into bowl as soon as Kohli is on the wicket. He starts off too slowly Kohli hardly has a year or two left in the game. Kohli seems to think that the entire weight of the world rests on his shoulder. He will have to come out of that. With youngsters surrounding Kohli and without the experience of either Pujara or Rahane, Kohli needs to step up but unfortunately, he is falling way short.

Towards the end of the career

It is safe to assume that Kohli is towards the end of his career given his performances off late. There is far much inconsistency from someone of his experience. The opposition is no longer worried about Kohli. They know that he is not going to hurt them. At the most, he will score in the 30s and 40s but will not go onto those massive daddy hundreds as Graham Gooch used to call it. India is going through a transition period during which Kohli not only needs to guide the youngsters like Gill or Jaiswal but will also have to be the fulcrum around whom the batting evolves until the youngsters find their feet.

Unfortunately, this is not happening. The ongoing Test at Chennai against Bangladesh is a case in point. Two low scores after being at the wicket for quite sometime during the 2^nd innings, frustrates everyone. Does Kohli care? Ofcourse he does. Does he still have that passion to succeed? Ofcourse, he does. Will he be able to succeed? That is a big question mark. He is still exceptionally fit and he is still wanting to make a difference but the skills seems to have deserted him.

The crucial year

India is slated to play 10 Tests in about 6 months. It involves 5 Tests in Australia in some of the toughest circumstances. The entire batting depends upon Kohli not only to guide them but to score those big hundreds that he has often made in Australia. His career and his legacy depends on these games. Already, against Bangladesh in the Test at Chennai, he could not make it count. Assuming that barring any injury, he will play in all the Tests. He must make these games count. If spin troubles him in India, pace is sure to trouble him in Australia. Kohli himself will be disappointed if he fails to score more than 1500 runs during the next 6 months.

Wrapping up is Kohli’s time running out?

It will be a shame if Kohli whose average has already dwindled down to 48 after the twin failures against Bangladesh, retires with an average of less than 50. He is very much following his Delhi mate, Sehwag, who too had a fabulous Test career only for his average to down below 50 towards the end of his career. Will Kohli be able to dust the cobweb and emerge as the giant that he once was?

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