Former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar while talking about Virat Kohli’s lean patch of runs said that the Indian Test skipper seems to be low on confidence.
Virat Kohli of late has failed to make an impact for his team with the bat in the Tests. The Indian skipper has been under the scanner for his poor conversion rate and the way he’s getting dismissed.
His not scoring century since 2019 has been the biggest talk of the town. It isn’t exactly that he’s out of form but the Indian Test skipper has been throwing away his wicket after doing all the hard work and getting starts. It seems that he has developed a pattern of getting out after a brilliant start.
In the recently concluded first Test against South Africa in Centurion, Virat Kohli looked very positive but his poor shot selection led to his downfall as he scored 35 (94) and 18 (32) in the first and second innings respectively.
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Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Sanjay Manjrekar said that Virat Kohli is definitely out of form and it’s the first time he has seen the Indian Test skipper low on confidence. He added that his self-confidence has also dipped as he hasn’t scored runs.
“Virat Kohli is a great batter. He’s certainly out of form. It’s the first time I have seen - I saw this in the IPL as well - that he’s a bit low on confidence which I thought would never happen. That’s why they say ‘never say never’. We have seen that because he hasn’t scored runs, his self-confidence has dipped a bit,” Sanjay Manjrekar said.
Sanjay Manjrekar further backed Virat Kohli to be back in form and score runs consistently, saying that the Indian Test skipper may get back in form in the upcoming third Test against South Africa in Cape Town.
“But he’s a great batter and when he’ll score runs, he’ll be back in form because he’ll keep scoring consistently. It’s completely possible that he’ll be back in form in this Test," he said.
The ongoing Test series between South Africa and India is leveled at 1-1. After missing the second Test due to upper back spasm, Indian skipper Virat Kohli is all set to return to the playing XI for the third Test, which will take place in Cape Town from 11th January.
(ESPNCricinfo inputs)
