New Delhi: There has been a lot of talk about Virat Kohli’s current form, and how he is not able to contribute big scores for team India. The sudden dip in his form is a matter of concern and fans are asking to drop him. There have been many comments made by various players and journalists regarding his form. Though, there is a section of cricket fans, who is ready to support him on social media and is eagerly waiting for the Indian batter’s comeback.
When youngsters like Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda and Ishan Kishan are doing well with the bat, Kohli can be seen struggling. So, now the question that is being discussed the most is that should he be rested or dropped from the Indian side. To get an answer, it is important to look at his numbers since 2020, the year from when Kohli is unable to score a century.
Test matches
In 2020, Kohli played three Test matches, two on the tour of New Zealand and one against Australia in Adelaide. He failed to score runs on the New Zealand tour where the highest runs coming out of his bat were just 19. In the Adelaide test, he scored 74 in the first inning before getting runout. In the second inning, the Indian team got all out for just 36 runs. So, in the three games he played, he scored 116 runs at an average of 19.33 runs.
In 2021, he played 11 matches, batting 19 innings. In the home series against England, he managed two half-centuries, but the string of low scores continued. Then India played the WTC finals, in which he scored 44 runs in the first innings and he got out for 13 in the second. No Indian scored a half-century in the game and India eventually lost the finals. Further, in the four games played against England in England, he averaged 31.14. In all, 2021 saw 536 runs at an average of 28.21.
In 2022, in the 4 test matches played, he has scored 220 runs till now, at an average of 31.42, including the two games against Sri Lanka at home. He has scored just one half-century in the current calendar year.
Surely, his red-ball form is a concern as he has scored just six 50+ scores in 32 innings.
ODIs
ODIs have been better for him as he has been striking the ball at a good average per game. In the year 2020, though he did not score a century, 5 half-centuries came off his bat in 9 games. Out of the 9 games he played, 6 were away against the quality oppositions of Australia and New Zealand. With 89 as the highest score that year, he averaged 47.88, which is quite remarkable and better than most of the top-order batters.
In 2021, he played just three ODIs in the home series against England. He averaged 43 and scored 56, 66 and 7 in those three games.
In 2022, however, he has scored 142 runs in 6 games. Though he played well in the tour to South Africa, scoring two 50+ scores in three games, he failed to score in the home series against West Indies. His average for 2022 dropped to 23.66.
So, actually, in the ODIs he has not lost the form, it was just one bad series against West Indies.
T20Is and IPL
In the year 2020, he scored decently. In the 10 international games played (batted for 9 innings), he scored 295 runs at 36.87, scoring at a strike rate of 141.82. In the IPL, he played 15 games and scored 466 runs which came at an average of 42.36, but the strike rate dropped to 121.35.
In 2021, In the 5 games played against England at Ahmedabad, he scored three half-centuries and also stayed not out in all three. Then came the T20 World Cup where he scored 57(49) against Pakistan. Against the black caps, he could manage just 9 runs off 17 balls. In total, in that calendar year, he scored 299 runs in 8 innings at 74.75 and his strike rate was 132.88. In the IPL, however, he had an average performance. He scored 405 runs at 28,92, striking at 119.46.
In the current year, he has played 4 T20I, scoring 81 runs at an average of 20.25. His trike rate is what is a matter of concern as it dropped to 128.57 in the internationals and 115.99 in the IPL. In the IPL, he had his worst average since 2009, as he scored 341 runs in 16 games.
As the number of overs in the format reduces, the game becomes more uncertain. Kohli’s T20 form is seeing a dip in 2022, but the year has not ended yet. It will be interesting to see how he performs in the T20 World Cup that is to be held in Australia.
