Virat Kohli has not had the best of runs in 2024. Irrespective of the format, the former India captain has struggled to get big runs. He averages just 22.62 across formats this year with just two fifties and one hundred.
While he did get a fluent ton in the second innings in Perth, Kohli has had a torrid run in Test cricket. He has scored 373 runs at an average of 26.64 this year. In fact, his form in the longest format has been on the decline. Since the start of 2020, he has averaged just 32.14 (1961 runs in 36 Tests) with three centuries and nine fifties.
Kohli has constantly been under the scanner in the recent past. In his last 10 innings, Kohli has failed to go past the 15-run mark on as many as seven occasions. He got scores of 7 & 11 in India’s defeat in the pink-ball Test in Adelaide.
When asked about the Delhi-born cricketer’s slump, Kapil Dev believes it is all on Kohli on how fast he can bounce back.
“Virat Kohli is one of the best cricketers we have seen in our country. If you put top four batsmen, he will be there. If he is going through a rough time, it is only up to him how fast he can bounce back,” Kapil Dev was quoted saying to the reporters.
‘Too early to talk about captaincy change’: Kapil Dev
Jasprit Bumrah led India in the first Test in Perth where India pummeled Australia by 295 runs. Regular captain Rohit Sharma was back at the helm in Adelaide but India slipped to their fourth consecutive Test loss under him.
Rohit Sharma hasn’t been at his best with the bat either. The India Test and ODI skipper averages 27.13 in Test cricket this year and it slips to a mere 11.83 in his last six Test matches.
However, the 1983 World Cup-winning captain believes a player can’t be judged on one performance. The ups and downs are normal but it is how someone reacts to difficult times.
“I think it is too early to talk about that. With one performance, you can’t say he is the best, and with one bad performance, you can’t say he doesn’t deserve it. Let a player play a lot of cricket, take on a lot of captaincy. Ups and downs will come, and then you judge a person by how he reacts in difficult times, not in good times. In good times, we don’t have to judge. When he is down and out,” Kapil Dev said.
