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Virat Kohl's Test batting average drops under 50

Mobashir

Mobashir

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So Virat Kohli's test average has now slipped under 50.

Will he be able to get it past over 50 again, or will it sleep further down.

Personally I will like him to have an average around 45. It suits the player he is.
 
His Test batting average has today dropped under 50 for the first time since August 2017.
 
Kohli is just embarrassing himself for quite some time now.
 
The guys so overrated beyond belief. What would his average be in a harder test era? Exactly. He's one of the best odi players of all time but he's still benefitted from an easier era in odis that favour batsman over bowlers. Test is where you are judged most and he's a world class batsman in tests, elite for a few years but not consistent enough in tests to be considered one of the goats in test.
 
keysersoze said:
The guys so overrated beyond belief. What would his average be in a harder test era? Exactly. He's one of the best odi players of all time but he's still benefitted from an easier era in odis that favour batsman over bowlers. Test is where you are judged most and he's a world class batsman in tests, elite for a few years but not consistent enough in tests to be considered one of the goats in test.
Click to expand...

What harder test era? The 2010s was as hard an era for batsmen as they came.
 
It will decline even more I recon

He will probably average 47-48 by the end of his career
 
Rana said:
It will decline even more I recon

He will probably average 47-48 by the end of his career
Click to expand...

Average of 47 without the match winning ability of a KP will rule him out of the All time greats in test cricket.
 
Mobashir said:
Average of 47 without the match winning ability of a KP will rule him out of the All time greats in test cricket.
Click to expand...

Cricket, especially Test cricket is the greatest leveller. Where are those people now who were writing him to be as good as Lara/Tendulkar /Ponting?
 
Series needs to be arranged with Bangla, Zimbos and Pak if possible.
 
Rana said:
Cricket, especially Test cricket is the greatest leveller. Where are those people now who were writing him to be as good as Lara/Tendulkar /Ponting?
Click to expand...
Even at his peak, Kohli wasn't as good as that trio.
 
He needs to play Nauman and Sajid to break the drought and get the long awaited hundred.
 
Cric1234 said:
He needs to play Nauman and Sajid to break the drought and get the long awaited hundred.
Click to expand...

Thankfully the BCCI and their Government has ensured that Indian cricketers bowling and batting averages will not improve by playing against Pakistan.
 
I think its a slight drop right now , one good knock can get it back there.

I think it will be interesting to see how he bats in tests in next year or so , before arriving at any conclusion.
 
Why is Kohli's average important? The bottom line is that India should win matches and trophies. If Kohli can't score runs, he should be kicked out of the team.
 
cric64 said:
Why is Kohli's average important? The bottom line is that India should win matches and trophies. If Kohli can't score runs, he should be kicked out of the team.
Click to expand...

Because 10 years ago he was being hailed as a future ATG test player, he is not. Kohli is one of the best LOI players of all time but never had the technique for test cricket.

He should retire from Tests and concentrate on LOI cricket. This will help him and India too.
 
KingKhanWC said:
Because 10 years ago he was being hailed as a future ATG test player, he is not. Kohli is one of the best LOI players of all time but never had the technique for test cricket.

He should retire from Tests and concentrate on LOI cricket. This will help him and India too.
Click to expand...

He should also retire from T20s. Not sure he can even perform in ODIs on his current form
 
topspin said:
Marriage destroyed his career.

Never get married in your prime lads is my advice to you all.
Click to expand...

Agreed. It might sound dumb or absurd, but it's true. Very few cricketers can have a good married life while playing top level cricket. Kohli sacrificed cricket for family. Noble sacrifice
 
KingKhanWC said:
Kohli is one of the best LOI players of all time but never had the technique for test cricket.
Click to expand...

Test average in India: 61.06
Test average in Australia: 54.08
Test average in England: 43.55
Test average in South Africa: 56.18
Test average in New Zealand: 45.57
Test average in Sri Lanka: 67.81
Test average in West Indies: 43.26

"Doesn't have the technique for test cricket." ::J
 
Varun said:
Test average in India: 61.06
Test average in Australia: 54.08
Test average in England: 43.55
Test average in South Africa: 56.18
Test average in New Zealand: 45.57
Test average in Sri Lanka: 67.81
Test average in West Indies: 43.26

"Doesn't have the technique for test cricket." ::J
Click to expand...

Wrong stats.
It's actually:
34 in eng
35 in west indies
36 in nz
43 in sl

What you posted is vs these teams not IN these countries.
 
Varun said:
Test average in India: 61.06
Test average in Australia: 54.08
Test average in England: 43.55
Test average in South Africa: 56.18
Test average in New Zealand: 45.57
Test average in Sri Lanka: 67.81
Test average in West Indies: 43.26

"Doesn't have the technique for test cricket." ::J
Click to expand...

Test average in India: 61.06 (Home asian country, even Sehwag didn’t need to bat like Ponting or Sachin to score runs)

Test average in Australia: 54.08 (Modern flat wickets helped the average although he did handle bounce fairly ok)

Test average in England: 43.55 (Nothing too special, I expect this to drop further once Sir Anderson is back)

Test average in South Africa: 56.18 (Good stuff)

Test average in New Zealand: 45.57 (Passable)

Test average in Sri Lanka: 67.81 (Job squad)
Test average in West Indies: 43.26 (Job squad)

Decent player though overall but not an amazing match winner in Tests, his leadership was brilliant however
 
shaz619 said:
Test average in India: 61.06 (Home asian country, even Sehwag didn’t need to bat like Ponting or Sachin to score runs)

Test average in Australia: 54.08 (Modern flat wickets helped the average although he did handle bounce fairly ok)

Test average in England: 43.55 (Nothing too special, I expect this to drop further once Sir Anderson is back)

Test average in South Africa: 56.18 (Good stuff)

Test average in New Zealand: 45.57 (Passable)

Test average in Sri Lanka: 67.81 (Job squad)
Test average in West Indies: 43.26 (Job squad)

Decent player though overall but not an amazing match winner in Tests, his leadership was brilliant however
Click to expand...

These are actually very good numbers except that these are wrong!
This guy is posting his avgs vs these teams not in these countries.
He averages 34 in england 36 in nz , 35 in wi and only 43 in sl.
 
Marooned said:
These are actually very good numbers except that these are wrong!
This guy is posting his avgs vs these teams not in these countries.
He averages 34 in england 36 in nz , 35 in wi and only 43 in sl.
Click to expand...

Are you sure those numbers are correct?
[MENTION=132715]Varun[/MENTION] may have experienced some database issues :mv
 
Varun said:
Test average in India: 61.06
Test average in Australia: 54.08
Test average in England: 43.55
Test average in South Africa: 56.18
Test average in New Zealand: 45.57
Test average in Sri Lanka: 67.81
Test average in West Indies: 43.26

"Doesn't have the technique for test cricket." ::J
Click to expand...

What's this? Maybe his average in win matches but surely not his overall averages.
 
shaz619 said:
Are you sure those numbers are correct?
[MENTION=132715]Varun[/MENTION] may have experienced some database issues :mv
Click to expand...

Yes my numbers are correct.
What varun posted is his total avg (home +away) vs these teams.
 
Apologies - these are vs (and not in) those countries, but the point stands - "doesn't have technique for test cricket" is a joke.
 
Varun said:
Test average in India: 61.06
Test average in Australia: 54.08
Test average in England: 43.55
Test average in South Africa: 56.18
Test average in New Zealand: 45.57
Test average in Sri Lanka: 67.81
Test average in West Indies: 43.26

"Doesn't have the technique for test cricket." ::J
Click to expand...

Mixed up away stats with overall?
 
Greatest Indian Test batsman :

1. Gavaskar/Tendulkar
2. Tendulkar/Gavaskar
3. Dravid
4. Kohli
5. Merchant
6. Hazare
7. Sehwag
8. Laxman
9. Vishwanath
10. Azharuddin

After that, you have Amarnath, Vengsarkar, Umrigar, Pujara, Rohit etc.
 
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I have always maintained that Kohli at best is a Mike Hussey level Test batsman - great on flat tracks and above average otherwise(Hussey was FAR better against Spin though). Obviously there were a few series as exceptions but as his overall figures suggest - he has been pretty mediocre as an away Test batsman averaging in the low 40s and far too many series where his returns have been tailender-esque both home and away.


Now these are not bad figures in the least but it would be borderline criminal to call him a great Test batsman with these returns. I don't think he even makes India's Top 10 Test batsmen of all time list, let alone being an all time great which used to be a discussion until even recently.
 
Proactive_ said:
I have always maintained that Kohli at best is a Mike Hussey level Test batsman - great on flat tracks and above average otherwise(Hussey was FAR better against Spin though). Obviously there were a few series as exceptions but as his overall figures suggest - he has been pretty mediocre as an away Test batsman averaging in the low 40s and far too many series where his returns have been tailender-esque both home and away.


Now these are not bad figures in the least but it would be borderline criminal to call him a great Test batsman with these returns. I don't think he even makes India's Top 10 Test batsmen of all time list, let alone being an all time great which used to be a discussion until even recently.
Click to expand...

He is definitely better than say, Sehwag who had Ashwinesque stats in SEN and that puts him clearly in top 10.

I may feel guilty of putting him ahead of Hazare and Merchant in the list but there is just not a flexible approach to compare Kohli or any modern era batsman to the likes of Hazare or Merchant.
 
Ab Fan said:
He is definitely better than say, Sehwag who had Ashwinesque stats in SEN and that puts him clearly in top 10.

I may feel guilty of putting him ahead of Hazare and Merchant in the list but there is just not a flexible approach to compare Kohli or any modern era batsman to the likes of Hazare or Merchant.
Click to expand...

I would still put Sehwag ahead of Kohli tbh. Sehwag was arguably one of the Top 5 batsmen ever in Asian conditions. Never even at his absolute peak can I imagine Kohli going in to score a double hundred against Murali and prime Mendis in a SL dustbowl like Sehwag did when the entire batting up except him failed dramatically. He could counter attack effectively on dustbowls and on flat tracks he could score huge runs at such a pace that the bowling line up were accorded with enough time to convert a draw into a win. A match winner among batsmen in Asian conditions if there ever was one.

On the contrary, I have never seen Kohli performing on dustbowls. Eng 2012, SA 2015, Aus 2017, Eng 2021, NZ 2021(one match but still), SL 2022 were some of the home series best remembered for their highly spin friendly conditions from Day 1 itself and Kohli failed in every single one of them.
 
Proactive_ said:
I would still put Sehwag ahead of Kohli tbh. Sehwag was arguably one of the Top 5 batsmen ever in Asian conditions. Never even at his absolute peak can I imagine Kohli going in to score a double hundred against Murali and prime Mendis in a SL dustbowl like Sehwag did when the entire batting up except him failed dramatically. He could counter attack effectively on dustbowls and on flat tracks he could score huge runs at such a pace that the bowling line up were accorded with enough time to convert a draw into a win. A match winner among batsmen in Asian conditions if there ever was one.

On the contrary, I have never seen Kohli performing on dustbowls. Eng 2012, SA 2015, Aus 2017, Eng 2021, NZ 2021(one match but still), SL 2022 were some of the home series best remembered for their highly spin friendly conditions from Day 1 itself and Kohli failed in every single one of them.
Click to expand...

His batting against good spin bowling has always been poor.
 
Regardless if kohlis average drops below 50 he is the GOAT 🐐 in test and odi period alongside tendulkar . And I don’t think anyone can even question.
 
Proactive_ said:
I would still put Sehwag ahead of Kohli tbh. Sehwag was arguably one of the Top 5 batsmen ever in Asian conditions. Never even at his absolute peak can I imagine Kohli going in to score a double hundred against Murali and prime Mendis in a SL dustbowl like Sehwag did when the entire batting up except him failed dramatically. He could counter attack effectively on dustbowls and on flat tracks he could score huge runs at such a pace that the bowling line up were accorded with enough time to convert a draw into a win. A match winner among batsmen in Asian conditions if there ever was one.

On the contrary, I have never seen Kohli performing on dustbowls. Eng 2012, SA 2015, Aus 2017, Eng 2021, NZ 2021(one match but still), SL 2022 were some of the home series best remembered for their highly spin friendly conditions from Day 1 itself and Kohli failed in every single one of them.
Click to expand...

Sehwag is well behind Kohli. He has an average of 25,20,20 in SEN. In contrast, Kohli averages 55 in South Africa on much treacherous wickets and also averages over 50 in Australia and did better in England and New Zealand too. I would definitely put Kohli ahead of Sehwag.
 
Considering all formats..yes he is GOAT
No one close to him.

ABD only gave him tough fight in all formats.
 
Last edited:
Protea Fan said:
inevitable fade that was for any great or legendary player

Sampras faded away once and federer paved his way from there

Even ronaldo and messy fading in that way now

These are part and parcel of any sport
Click to expand...

Fair points.

I agree that there are many sportsmen who've done very well after marriage.

But for desi males looking to get married to desi women, I would never recommend marriage during your playing career.

Desi people are too emotional, have insecurity issues. Desi women like to wear the pants in the relationship as well.
 
Cover Drive Six said:
Considering all formats..yes he is GOAT
No one close to him.

ABD only gave him tough fight in all formats.
Click to expand...

not even in GOAT comparison anymore

Even his peers like smith and root are comfortably better than him in test cricket which is the pinnacle format

His career is going on the ponting way i reckon

An absolute insane envious peak and a very ominous steep decline which we are witnessing now

Having said this ponting achieved far higher before slowing down
 
Ashmal said:
No he isn't in Tests.
Click to expand...

I reiterate Virat Kohli is the GOAT 🐐 of ODI and TEST period why you guys arguing for

I just can’t believe I need to even justify this but here we go

Virat Kohli has played several match-winning knocks in Tests

In Test, Virat Kohli has set the stage on fire and player memorable innings. The batting behemoth has scored 7 double centuries, the most by an Indian player in Tests. Out of the many ravishing knocks from Kohli, some of them stand out for the class and authority that he exhibited out in the middle.

To Point out a few The 254* that he plundered against South Africa in the year 2019 is one that will rank as one of the most memorable knocks played by an Indian batsman in Test matches at home ever . The batting colossus Kohli faced 336 deliveries, and scored an unbeaten 254 to allow India to pile up a total of 601 runs on the board, and helped his side to hammer the Proteas by an innings and 137 runs.

Also, another Virat Kohli special that will stay in our memories is the 235 that he scored at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai against England in 2016. Coming in with the scorecard reading 146/2, Kohli took on the England bowling attack consisting of James Anderson, Ben Stokes and Adil Rashid to score a magical double ton. His exploits with the willow allowed India to thrash the England side by an innings and 36 runs.

I can go on and on the remarkable feat he achieved as the Indian test captain not to forget he is the only Asian captain to ever defeat Australia in Australia..

Say no more
 
Protea Fan said:
not even in GOAT comparison anymore

Even his peers like smith and root are comfortably better than him in test cricket which is the pinnacle format

His career is going on the ponting way i reckon

An absolute insane envious peak and a very ominous steep decline which we are witnessing now

Having said this ponting achieved far higher before slowing down
Click to expand...

Smith and Root are nowhere near to Kohli in LOI
Thats why I said.. ALL FORMATS.
 
Wahid1234 said:
I reiterate Virat Kohli is the GOAT 🐐 of ODI and TEST period why you guys arguing for

I just can’t believe I need to even justify this but here we go

Virat Kohli has played several match-winning knocks in Tests

In Test, Virat Kohli has set the stage on fire and player memorable innings. The batting behemoth has scored 7 double centuries, the most by an Indian player in Tests. Out of the many ravishing knocks from Kohli, some of them stand out for the class and authority that he exhibited out in the middle.

To Point out a few The 254* that he plundered against South Africa in the year 2019 is one that will rank as one of the most memorable knocks played by an Indian batsman in Test matches at home ever . The batting colossus Kohli faced 336 deliveries, and scored an unbeaten 254 to allow India to pile up a total of 601 runs on the board, and helped his side to hammer the Proteas by an innings and 137 runs.

Also, another Virat Kohli special that will stay in our memories is the 235 that he scored at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai against England in 2016. Coming in with the scorecard reading 146/2, Kohli took on the England bowling attack consisting of James Anderson, Ben Stokes and Adil Rashid to score a magical double ton. His exploits with the willow allowed India to thrash the England side by an innings and 36 runs.

I can go on and on the remarkable feat he achieved as the Indian test captain not to forget he is the only Asian captain to ever defeat Australia in Australia..

Say no more
Click to expand...

Stats and records don't back you up.

A couple of double hundreds at home prove nothing....there are many who have done that and much more in Test Cricket.

He's just an Indian great in tests and that's it at this point unless he can turn the tables before retiring.

And no he isn't the only one to beat Aus....Rahane did it with a much weaker Indian side and against a full-strength Aussie team
 
Last edited:
Wahid1234 said:
I reiterate Virat Kohli is the GOAT �� of ODI and TEST period why you guys arguing for

I just can’t believe I need to even justify this but here we go

Virat Kohli has played several match-winning knocks in Tests

In Test, Virat Kohli has set the stage on fire and player memorable innings. The batting behemoth has scored 7 double centuries, the most by an Indian player in Tests. Out of the many ravishing knocks from Kohli, some of them stand out for the class and authority that he exhibited out in the middle.

To Point out a few The 254* that he plundered against South Africa in the year 2019 is one that will rank as one of the most memorable knocks played by an Indian batsman in Test matches at home ever . The batting colossus Kohli faced 336 deliveries, and scored an unbeaten 254 to allow India to pile up a total of 601 runs on the board, and helped his side to hammer the Proteas by an innings and 137 runs.

Also, another Virat Kohli special that will stay in our memories is the 235 that he scored at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai against England in 2016. Coming in with the scorecard reading 146/2, Kohli took on the England bowling attack consisting of James Anderson, Ben Stokes and Adil Rashid to score a magical double ton. His exploits with the willow allowed India to thrash the England side by an innings and 36 runs.

I can go on and on the remarkable feat he achieved as the Indian test captain not to forget he is the only Asian captain to ever defeat Australia in Australia..

Say no more
Click to expand...

Wut? Kohli is nowhere near Dravid, and especially Gavaskar. Gavaskar is so much better than Kohli it's not even funny. Kohli is a bit better than Sehwag, that's about it.
 
Kohli is past his prime now.

be glad that you got to witness his prime. Phenomenal player and one of the best from India.
 
Had he not been the skipper, he'd have been surely dropped by now just like PuRane.
 
MP2011 said:
Had he not been the skipper, he'd have been surely dropped by now just like PuRane.
Click to expand...

He will be dropped by next year if he doesn't improve. India is looking forward to build next generation of players, Kohli is history.
 
Averaging 26 over his last 20 tests with 6 50’s.

I think leaving him out of the next test side might benefit all. There’s no doubt he’s really trying extra hard to apply himself but it’s just not working out and this has now been over an extended period of time.

If he then makes it back to the side he’ll probably do so with a ton. He’s stuck in a rut and just wishing he will come out of it is unlikely to work.
 
Give him some time, everyone wrote him off and came to his defences like his biggest supporters when he started to score some runs in LOI's.
 
Average 48.90 now.

Lowest it has been since 2016.
 
shaz619 said:
Give him some time, everyone wrote him off and came to his defences like his biggest supporters when he started to score some runs in LOI's.
Click to expand...

You are right. Many plastic(:ab) fans were going after him when he was performing poorly. As soon as he scored some runs in T20 WC they all jumped on the Kohli bandwagon again. :inti
 
Virat Kohli last 36 Test innings:

Runs 917
Average 25.47
Hundreds 0
Fifties 6
 
The amount of negativity and defensiveness that has crept into this team since Dravid took over is scary.

If Dravid isn't sacked immediately we may lose the Australian series as well.
 
In 2020s :-

Pant 45
Jadeja 39
Rahul 33
Gill 32
Pujara 30
<B>Kohli 26</B>
Rahane 24

:inti
 
Kohli turns 35 next year. He was never a technically good batsman, just very gifted with hand eye coordination and great determination. However his physical capability has deteriorated and the lack of good technique is now apparent.

In test cricket, Kohli is finished. He should retire from the format and focus on LOIs. I want him to go past Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI centuries. That's the only thing Kohli can achieve at this point in his career.
 
Joseph Gomes said:
Kohli turns 35 next year. He was never a technically good batsman, just very gifted with hand eye coordination and great determination. However his physical capability has deteriorated and the lack of good technique is now apparent.

In test cricket, Kohli is finished. He should retire from the format and focus on LOIs. I want him to go past Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI centuries. That's the only thing Kohli can achieve at this point in his career.
Click to expand...

I think he faces more pressure than tendulkar
 
Never seen an extremely high quality player deteriorate so soon and so much. It's embarrassing for me as a massive Kohli fan these days.
 
Hitman said:
Never seen an extremely high quality player deteriorate so soon and so much. It's embarrassing for me as a massive Kohli fan these days.
Click to expand...
That's because he got his Himalayan sized ego to get better of him.
 
I bet if India played a 5 test match series against Pakistan, Kohli would score 700+ runs at an average of 100+
 
MP2011 said:
Lol, not true at all.
Click to expand...

Def true. Majority of Indian fans would be encouraging and cheering Sachin when he walked onto bat. He knew everyone wanted him to do well and no one will take out knives when he failing.. Kohli on the other hand has huge swathes of Indian fans actively rooting against him
 
Ahmad-GERMANFC said:
Def true. Majority of Indian fans would be encouraging and cheering Sachin when he walked onto bat. He knew everyone wanted him to do well and no one will take out knives when he failing.. Kohli on the other hand has huge swathes of Indian fans actively rooting against him
Click to expand...
If Sachin was playing in the current era he would have also had a million Indian haters.

Social media is a heavenly platform for haters.
 
He needs to.either retire from test cricket ir go play ranji trophy and all the domestic cricket available to regain the concentration and form
 
Ahmad-GERMANFC said:
Def true. Majority of Indian fans would be encouraging and cheering Sachin when he walked onto bat. He knew everyone wanted him to do well and no one will take out knives when he failing.. Kohli on the other hand has huge swathes of Indian fans actively rooting against him
Click to expand...
Kohli has always been such an obnoxious person that he rubs almost everyone wrong way and hence his large swathes of haters. OTOH, Tendulkar was a saint in comparison.

PS: Tendulkar was booed really heavily at his home ground (Wankhede) in 2006 for falling cheaply against England.
 
MP2011 said:
Kohli has always been such an obnoxious person that he rubs almost everyone wrong way and hence his large swathes of haters. OTOH, Tendulkar was a saint in comparison.

PS: Tendulkar was booed really heavily at his home ground (Wankhede) in 2006 for falling cheaply against England.
Click to expand...

It's quite entertaining at times :))
 
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