A lot has already been said and written about the Indian Test captain Virat Kohli’s form and his century drought. Virat Kohli, who is hailed as the run-machine, has set a high standard for himself with his consistent and brilliant performance in the past, however, the cricketer has been struggling to smash a century for over two years now.
Virat hasn’t smashed a century in any format since November 2019, with his last ton coming in India’s first pink-ball Test against Bangladesh in Kolkata. While the cricketer has been constantly contributing with runs, but he has failed to match his own shadow from the past.
Despite his lean patch, Virat is still averaging 46.66 from 12 ODIs since January 1, 2020, and 49.5 in T20Is, but it is in Test cricket, where an alarming slump has transpired in Virat’s form. In his last 14 Test games, Virat has scored 652 runs at an average of 26.08, and the highest score of 74.
Ahead of the third Test match against South Africa, Virat Kohli has responded to the criticism over his lean patch in international cricket. Virat reminded the fans about the 2014 England tour, where his form had become the talking point. He said:
“This is not the first time that people have talked about my form, it has happened a few times in my career. England in 2014 was one of those phases. I do not kind of look at myself from the lens the outside world looks at me with. The standards have been set by me myself, they are not an occurrence from the outside world, and more than anyone else, I take a lot of pride in doing the best for the team and wanting to perform for the team regularly,”
He added:
“You have to understand that in sport, things do not go your way all the time but at the end of the day, I realise as a player I have been involved in key moments for the side and for me that is a matter of pride that I have been a part of partnerships when the team needed it. And eventually, those moments were crucial for us. Sometimes your focal point needs to shift,”
Virat had to miss the second Test match at the Wanderers as he suffered an upper back spasm. In his absence, KL Rahul had led the Indian side in 2nd Test match. However, he is all set to lead the team in the third Test match. He has confirmed that he is fit and all set for the crucial 3rd test match. He said: “I am absolutely fit,”
Meanwhile, if the Indian cricket team manages to win the third and final Test match, Virat Kohli will become the first Indian captain to lead the team to victory on South African soil. The third test match will kickstart at Cape Town from January 1 onwards.
Also Read: Virat Kohli Reveals How He Felt After Missing The Second Test
