Virat Kohli's return to Test mould with the first match of the series against Bangladesh hasn't begun on a confident note, with the batting maestro's scores in the two innings reading 6 and 17. The poor outing extended Kohli's lean international run this season, which has seen him scoring just one fifty since January.
In the second innings of the Tes in Chennai, Kohli (17) was dismissed by off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz, which brought out an advice for the legend from former India allrounder and coach Ravi Shastri.
"He has (been dismissed by spinners), especially in the last 2-3 years. But he has scored a lot of runs too," said Shastri in his comment on JioCinema. "What you want to see him do more is use his feet, get to the pitch of the ball, probably employ the sweep. You’ve got to move with the times, don’t be afraid to go over the top when the field is up.
"You could try and do things to unsettle the spinners rather than allowing them to keep bowling at you. It's what he did a lot when he scored a lot of runs."
In 15 international matches so far in 2024, Kohli has scored just 319 runs at an average of 18.76 with one fifty and no hundred. Comparing that with his numbers in 2023, Kohli amassed 2048 runs at an average of 66.06 in 35 matches, including 8 hundreds and 10 fifties.
Shastri reckons Kohli's lean patch has also to do with some tough pitches that India have played on in the recent times.
"Also some of the tracks that India have played on, it's not been easy. Plus I know a few dismissals where, like Shubman Gill in the first innings (of Chennai Test), he (Kohli) has gotten caught down the leg wide. Funny dismissals. He'll be aware of it. That's for sure. There is no batter who doesn't remember. Obviously you find a method of finding a solution, find out what works for you and stick with that," Shastri said.
Kohli will have a major role to play in India's Test run over the next four months. After the two-Test series against Bangladesh, India will host New Zealand for three Tests before travelling to Australia for the Border Gavaskar Trophy that will be contested over a five-Test series.
The results in this four-month run will also decide whether India stay in the top two of the World Test Championship leaderboard and qualify for the final. Currently India are No. 1, followed by Australia.
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