Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra reckons India’s superstar Virat Kohli doesn’t look like a threat to the opposition after his mundane returns against Bangladesh and New Zealand. While Kohli could only manage 93 runs in three Test matches against the Kiwis at an average of 15.50, he scored 99 runs in two Test matches against the Tigers at an average of 33.
Kohli’s numbers in the last five years in Test cricket have been a worry as he is averaging around 33. Chopra reckons Kohli doesn’t carry the same aura he used to carry earlier.
“Kohli also has just one fifty in 10 innings. If you see other than that, you will find that he left a lot to be desired. In fact, you can see his entire year. He didn’t play the England series. I thought that was a big miss. The last five years’ story is not good and the last 10 innings are not good at all,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar or Sir Vivian Richards, these players have an aura, that once they come to bat, they would dictate. That sort of aura used to be there when Virat Kohli used to come. When Virat Kohli comes now, it seems like he can be dismissed without any issues. I am not saying that. You can see that from the opposing team’s body language,” Chopra added.
Kohli was involved in two run-outs in the last two Test matches against New Zealand. The right-hander sold Rishabh Pant down the river in the second Test whereas he ran himself out in the first innings of the third Test at Mumbai. Moreover, Kohli was dismissed on a full toss in the second Test by Mitchell Santner.
“The error of judgment is happening repeatedly. Sometimes a full toss is missed and you take a run after hitting straight to the fielder on another occasion. Sometimes you don’t know that you got an inside edge, and even the outside edge. You don’t take the DRS once and take the second time, and both were wrong,” Chopra said while speaking on Kohli’s dismissals.
The former Indian captain scored a match-winning knock of 76 runs in the T20 World Cup final against South Africa. However, barring that, Kohli hasn’t been able to come up with consistent performances in 2024.
“This year, even if you see the T20 World Cup, he was outstanding in the final, he is God’s child, but he didn’t score runs apart from that, and that is a reality. He didn’t score runs on the Sri Lanka tour. So the heart beats fast if you see Kohli’s 2024,” Chopra observed.
Kohli will look to turn the tables in the upcoming Australia tour.
