Virat Kohli has come under severe criticism for his flop show in the ongoing Test series against New Zealand, which India have already conceded after losing the first two matches in Bengaluru and Pune.
While the star batter registered scores of 0 and 70 in the series opener, he returned with 1 and 17 across the two innings of second Test.
Barring a handful of knocks, Kohli has struggled in this home season and especially has been found wanting against the spinners. The right-hander amassed only 99 runs at an average of 24.75 in the preceding two-Test series against Bangladesh.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik said that it is now a recurring pattern of Kohli being dismissed by spinners and the veteran campaigner needs to find solutions.
Kohli was dismissed by Mitchell Santner in both the innings of Pune Test, marking the first time when the batter was dismissed twice in a Test by a left-arm spinner.
"Virat Kohli has not had it easy, the series has not been good to him, three out of four innings, he has disappointed. It's obviously a recurring pattern where spinners have troubled him, and I think he will go and figure out what he needs to do to come out stronger. He is a man, who is searching for answers. When you reach that level of genius and super stardom, you will be thrown challenges and here is another challenge. India likes to play on pitches that aids spin, what is his gameplan?" Karthik stated.
Dinesh Karthik didn’t filter his words as he suggested Virat Kohli to "go back to domestic cricket" to regain his mojo.
"We all know what he is capable, this series was not meant to be. Like the fans have been saying, he has not done it for a long time and that we cannot run away from. We don't want to sugarcoat it because we want to be as objective in assessing any player, any performance, at the moment Virat Kohli's Test record in the last 2-3 years, has not been great against spin," Karthik remarked.
"What we needs to do, is probably go back to domestic cricket and focus on what needs to be done with the current rules of DRS. There is no doubt the left-arm spinners pose a big threat," he added.
Ever since 2020, Virat Kohli has not replicated the kind of consistency he is known. In the last four years, he has just scored two Test tons, and both of them came in 2023.
As a result, Kohli’s Test average has dipped to 48.31. He currently has 9035 runs to his name from 117 Tests, including 29 centuries.
Kohli will now look to turn things around in the third Test against New Zealand, slated to be held in Mumbai from November 1.
