Are Virat Kohli's best days behind him?

[jeeteshssaxena]

Yes, done and dusted.

 

[Zaz]

Na all it ll take is a double century on flat pancake ans his avge will shoot straight back up

The problem with him at the moment is hes going hard at the ball with hard hands rather than playing softly and letting the ball come to him at the stumps

Hes also pushing away from his body at 4-6 stumps when he should be leaving them deliveries He just needs to put his ego and put that cover drive away and stop wanting to feel bat on ball

You cant play away from your body on the off side against these bowlers in these conditions

 

[Technics 1210]

VK is done. He's a family man now, and anyone who is a family man will tell you quick and swift victories/wins take lesser priority.

He clearly stated in an interview on Sky he could walk away from the game with no regrets. Let this sink in.

He's only good for pyjama IPL now.

 

[MenInG]

Former England captain Nasser Hussain has come out strongly in his criticism for Indian skipper Virat Kohli's shortcomings as a batsman who is not being able to negate swing well in overseas conditions against a high-class pace attack led by the in-form Joe Root.

With headlining acts such as old warhorse James Anderson, Ollie Robinson, Sam Curran, and Craig Overton in his ranks, Root has indeed made sure to put the pressure back on an aggressive Kohli by cramping Team India's batting flair and composition in the three Tests out of five that have already been played in the ongoing Pataudi Trophy series.

Despite an impressive 151-run triumph at the iconic Lord's cricket ground, Anderson & Co. have risen right back up and swung the pendulum of the 5-match Test series into balance by sheer resilience and a lionhearted fighting spirit.

On the personal front, captain Kohli hasn’t had the best of outings with the bat even by half his standards in international cricket. In his last five innings, he has managed to amass only 124 runs at an average of 24.80 with the highest score of 55 (125) that he scored a few days ago in the 3rd Test at Headingley which couldn't salvage the team from an innings defeat whatsoever.

Having reached the World Test Championship (WTC) finals before losing the inaugural title to the Blackcaps, Virat's nightmarish run with the bat doesn't seem to end as the 32-year-old stylish cricketing icon hasn't scored a century in any of the three formats for over two years now.

Hussain wrote the following excerpt about 'King Kohli' in his column for The Daily Mail:

“Kohli has played at balls he could be leaving, he seems to have that slight technical issue I highlighted in these pages with the positioning of his back foot and he is not picking up the line of Anderson and Robinson."

"Kohli is not sure whether to play or leave and whether to set himself for the inswinger or not. He doesn't know what to do. It's high-class bowling and it's not going to get any easier for him," highlighted the veteran English cricketer.

Hussain also pointed out that Virat has not been reading the deliveries second-guessing the line of the ball many times before playing a stroke which is why he hasn’t tasted much success against England on the tour so far.

In contrasting scenarios, England's no.1 Joe Root is in the form of his life as the 30-year-old scored his third consecutive ton in the 3rd Test at Leeds vs India as the hosts' skipper prevails as the leading run-scorer in the 5-match Test series, having notched up 507 runs at an average of 126.75.

England defeated India in the third Test at Headingley by an innings and 76 runs. Kohli's men shall be looking to take the lead in the series for the second time in the penultimate 4th Test scheduled to start on Thursday (September 2) at the Kennington Oval in London

https://www.timesnownews.com/sports...-against-joe-root-led-england-ahead-of/805642

 

[sweep_shot]

I think his best days are behind him.

Not the same old Kohli anymore. Age is probably catching up.

 

[James]

VK is done. He's a family man now, and anyone who is a family man will tell you quick and swift victories/wins take lesser priority.

He clearly stated in an interview on Sky he could walk away from the game with no regrets. Let this sink in.

He's only good for pyjama IPL now.

True. Marriage and kids is a lovely life, but this can often take strong priority over producing true excellence in a work setting.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

It's not just marriage and kids, he is also spending a huge bulk of his time maintaining fitness, being a brand ambassador and captaining an IPL team. Other greats like Tendulkar didn't play much IPL, not was a fitness freak. A human being can only do so much at the top level. He is also 33 already where some players start to reach terminal decline due to slowing reflexes.

 

[OMB]

He badly needs a confidence boosting series against few minnow sides. That nagging devil of doubts in his mind would disappear.

 

[Snowflake]

They are, but his best days were the best of any cricketer on the planet so its not something that can be easily replicated.

He also has his own family now and it would be hard for any man to devote as much time to his own development and dedication to his single days.

This. The fact that his peak was freakish, it most certainly is true that we've already seen the best of him.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

It's not just marriage and kids, he is also spending a huge bulk of his time maintaining fitness, being a brand ambassador and captaining an IPL team. Other greats like Tendulkar didn't play much IPL, not was a fitness freak. A human being can only do so much at the top level. He is also 33 already where some players start to reach terminal decline due to slowing reflexes.

Sachin wasn't a fitness freak yet he played 200 tests and 463 ODIs for India.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

They are, but his best days were the best of any cricketer on the planet so its not something that can be easily replicated.

He also has his own family now and it would be hard for any man to devote as much time to his own development and dedication to his single days.

Sachin got married when he was just 22 years old. There is a reason why people like/love Sachin in India. He always gave his best for Indian team. He was consistent, humble and wasn't arrogant. He was always ready to listen to past legends and correct his mistakes. Same can be said about Rahul Dravid as well. These things is what separates Kohli from guys like Sachin and Dravid. And this is what will make his time difficult in the remaining years of his international career.

If he wants to spend quality time with his family then he should do it during IPL.

 

[MP2011]

Sachin wasn't a fitness freak yet he played 200 tests and 463 ODIs for India.

That's because he was much more dedicated to the game which gave him all than say someone like Kohli who misses India games as per his whims and fancies. OTOH, Tendulkar didn't miss a single India game till 1999 when he experienced those back spasms in the Chennai test. Even then, he played the next 2 games against Pakistan.

He also earned like crazy but he always put cricket above everything else.

 

[MP2011]

Other greats like Tendulkar didn't play much IPL

lol, Tendulkar still played 7 seasons of IPL. And did anyone put a gun on Kohli's head and asked him to play all IPL games? Why is it so necessary to play all IPL games and skip India games?

If he feels fatigued from playing IPL, then he should simply skip it, why make it as an excuse for his pathetic performance over 2 years now?

 

[mastimasti]

Not sure but they sure have destroyed the culture of accountability.

Braindead fans dont help either.

When you are stupid, you are oblivious to it but others feel the pain.

That's whats happening in reality for us.

Trust me, I know it. No on is held accountable in any form of Indian life these days, which has created a warped society which believes Bollywood heroics are real.

 

[MP2011]

Sachin got married when he was just 22 years old. There is a reason why people like/love Sachin in India. He always gave his best for Indian team. He was consistent, humble and wasn't arrogant. He was always ready to listen to past legends and correct his mistakes. Same can be said about Rahul Dravid as well. These things is what separates Kohli from guys like Sachin and Dravid. And this is what will make his time difficult in the remaining years of his international career.

If he wants to spend quality time with his family then he should do it during IPL.

Simply put, Kohli has put his fingers in too many pies and hence finding it extremely difficult to manage all of them successfully. Doing it for 2-3 years is fine but the problem with Kohli is that he isn't the most talented guy, he is a very hard working guy and one can't keep on working so hard forever!

 

[MP2011]

Sachin got married when he was just 22 years old.

I know it's a rhetorical statement but I firmly believe that Tendulkar would've never missed a series as important one as Australia series was. Certainly not when your team just got dismissed for 36 in the only test you played there!

Of course, Kohli didn't know that we'd be dismissed for 36 in the Adelaide test's 2nd innings and he was already scheduled to leave immediately after that test. However, that must be so demoralizing for that Indian team to see their captain leaving when the team was at its lowest in alien conditions! Bad for team, bad optics, great for the opposition when they saw the opposition's talisman and the captain, no less leaving the team in the doldrums.

If he had to come back from Australia after playing just 1 test, why play even that 1 test, why not skip the series altogether which would've given Rahane much more clarity of thought and authority over his team.

 

[MenInG]

Former Pakistan pacer Aaqib Javed has given his take on Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli's struggles in the ongoing Test series against England. Kohli has been among the runs but has failed to notch up big scores so far in the five-match rubber against Joe Root's men. He is yet to score a century across formats since November 2019 and has failed to reach the triple-figure mark despite coming close on a few occasions.

Javed claimed Kohli is a 'typical Asian player', who tends to struggle against swing and seam in overseas conditions. One of the best batsmen in the world at present, Kohli has mastered almost all sorts of conditions across the world but his shortcomings against the moving ball have been left exposed in the England Test series this time around.

Kohli has so far scored 124 runs in three Tests against the hosts and has been dismissed against outswing a couple of times. The deliveries moving away from the off stump have troubled the Indian skipper in the series so far. Javed believes Kohli can be successful in Australia and India but in countries where the ball swings for a prolonged period, he might face difficulties.

“Kohli is a typical Asian player, he can be successful in Australia. But in places like England and South Africa or anywhere where the ball swings or seams, he’ll chase the ball as he’s vulnerable against the controlled outswing,” Javed told a channel.

On the contrary, the former Pakistan pacer believes England captain Joe Root's air-tight technique makes him a better batsman than Kohli in such conditions. Root has been enjoying a purple patch in the ongoing Test series against India and has been the leading run-getter so far with a staggering 507 runs from just three matches.

"Joe Root’s air-tight technique in these tough conditions make him safer than Kohli as he knows how to play the ball late,” said Javed.

“Cricketing ecology plays a very big role in the development of a player. In England, the ball keeps swinging early in the season. Then towards the end, it does tend to spin too. So, players get used to playing it the tough way.

“Players from the subcontinent ooze flair because they don’t care much about the ball moving around as they hit it through the line. Whereas, players from SENA can play the moving ball well. But once it starts to turn and keep low, they flatten out as well,” he explained.

 

[shaz619]

I think without the burden of captaincy, we will see the real Virat Kohli now, I expect him to show up in his pink blazer like the great Mark Henry who famously said - I got a lot left in the Tank!

The bloke is still a spring chicken, some go on like he is in his late 30’s, just look at the career mediocre players like Misbah had and Kohli is vastly superior.