Former India cricketer and analyst Sanjay Manjrekar believes Virat Kohli has tried everything to overcome his outside off-stump problem and is now suffering from self-doubt. Notably, Kohli was dismissed for the eighth time in nine innings, edging the ball outside off stump on Day 2 of the fifth Test in Sydney.

The right-handed batter was dismissed by Scott Boland for the fourth time in the series, as the Australian seamer continued to exploit his vulnerability. Manjrekar commented on Kohli's dismissal after the day's play, saying that after several years, he’s gone back to batting inside his crease.

“Lots of greats have gone through a rut, but not in the fashion where they've got out to one particular shot and the great has not been able to find a way. There's another quick point I want to make if you see that dismissal and you've got to feel for Virat Kohli. There were occasions when he was trying to leave balls outside the off on this occasion, after many years, Mark and Simon, you see that he's actually deep inside the batting crease,” Manjrekar on Star Sports.

Further, he stated that the India star has tried everything under his control and now appears to be suffering from self-doubt using the same method of dismissing.

“I mean, he's gone back and he's inside the batting crease. Now that is a very rare thing for Virat Kohli to do. You know, Virat Kohli loves getting outside the batting crease going forward. He's tried everything within his, you know, capabilities and on this occasion he tried being inside the batting crease, same result. What do you do? And Mark makes a good point about him now having clear self-doubt with what has happened and with the sameness of the end for every innings,” he added.

In the BGT 2024, Kohli finished with 190 runs from five matches (nine innings) at an average of 23.75 with one hundred to his name. The former India captain began the series brightly, scoring a century in the first Test in Perth, but struggled to maintain consistency in the following games.