Ahead of India’s tour to Australia, Virat Kohli has come under the scanner for not being able to match up to his lofty standards in Test cricket for the past few years. Ever since 2020, the star batter has just scored two Test tons while he has managed to cross fifty just once in the six Tests so far in 2024.
Kohli was troubled by the Bangladesh and Kiwi spinners in the recently held home Test season, returning with scores of 6, 17, 47, 29*, 0, 70, 1, 17, 4 and 1. As a result, his Test average has dropped to 47.83. He currently has 9040 runs to his name from 118 Tests, including 29 centuries.
However, former India coach Ravi Shastri has backed Kohli to regain his form during the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under.
“Your juices are flowing, you're charged up. It's again a case with Virat. You want to see calmness because at times you are over-eager to get out there and throw the first punch,” said Shastri on the ICC Review show.
“But I think that calmness in the first half an hour where he gets out to bat or in the first three innings of the series will be extremely important. If he can be calm and play the game at his own pace rather than being in a hurry, I think he'll be fine,” he added.
Virat Kohli’s Test record may have slumped, but he loves the rivalry against Australia and has played some of his best Test knocks Down Under. The veteran campaigner has played 25 Test innings on Australian soil, amassing 1352 runs at an average of 54.08 with six hundreds and four half-centuries.
Shastri expressed confidence in Kohli's ability to perform well in familiar conditions. “Well, the King is back in his territory. That's all I will tell them. When you've earned that title after your exploits in Australia, it will be on your (opponent's) mind when you go out to bat,” he remarked.
The marquee Border-Gavaskar Trophy is slated to get underway on November 22 in Perth and the action will then shift to Adelaide (December 6-10), where both teams will face each other in a Day-Night Test. The last three Tests are set to take place in Brisbane (December 14-18), Melbourne (December 26-30), and Sydney (January 3-7).
