Indian captain Virat Kohli’s coach Rajkumar Sharma was shocked that his ward has slipped to the fifth spot in the latest ICC Test batsman rankings, but was confident that the Indian run-machine will find his form very soon in the ongoing five-match Test series against England.

Kohli is regarded as one of the finest batsmen in the world, but he has not lived up to the expectations lately and his recent scores read 0, 42, and 20 in three innings of the ongoing Test series against England.

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While Kohli slipped fifth, England captain Joe Root has jumped to the second spot in the ICC Test batsman rankings, thanks to his impressive batting so far in the Test series against India and it was a ‘shock’ for Sharma but he claimed a century is on the cards for the Indian captain.

He also insisted the 32-year-old is extremely motivated and a dip in form of late hasn’t let him affect much and felt a big hundred is around the corner given his attitude on the field.

Sharma said on India News, “It is shocking news for me that Virat Kohli has fallen to the fifth spot. I was expecting that Joe Root would have probably gone ahead of him. I will definitely talk to him.”

He added, “I don't feel there is any need to motivate him because he is extremely motivated. When I had spoken to him after the last match as well, he was quite excited and was happy that they had won and was not too worried about his runs. When he has such an attitude, a big hundred is about to come.”

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On being asked if Root had posed a challenge to Kohli, the coach noted: “It is not a challenge but he [Root] has batted fantastically. I have always said that that he is an amazing player because he has a very good temperament and technique in any case. When he plays on his home ground and especially against India, I feel he is extremely motivated.”

He signed off by saying, “I would say it is a challenge for Virat to chase Joe Root. I have full hope because I have known Virat from his childhood, he loves challenges. So it is a good challenge and we will see a good contest in the upcoming matches.”