Champions Trophy 2025: Virat Kohli's Childhood Coach Reacts To His Mediocre Form

Virat Kohli's childhood coach, Rajkumar Sharma, feels the star Indian batter will return to his absolute best in the ICC Champions Trophy, which starts on February 19.

The right-hander had a mediocre 2024 with the bat, especially in red-ball cricket. Meanwhile, in five ODIs since the 2023 ODI World Cup, Kohli has managed 115 runs in five innings at an average of just 23 and a strike rate of 87.1.

"Just because some matches went bad, does not mean the player is out-of-touch. When you look at his previous records, you will see what he did for the country. I believe that he will be performing like the champion player he always has been,” Rajkumar told ANI.

The Men in Blue will be without their ace paceman, Jasprit Bumrah, who was ruled out of the tournament due to a back injury.

Mohammed Shami is making his return from a long injury and hasn’t looked at his best, while Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana haven’t played enough ODIs. India do have a strong spin-bowling unit and will rely on them to put pressure on the opposition.

"It is unfortunate because Bumrah is our ace fast-bowler and his presence will be missed. I consider him as number one bowler as he brings breakthroughs in initial stages and does well in death overs too," said Rajkumar.

Rajkumar, however, is still confident of India’s chances in the event. "The chances are really there and India is among the favourites. The team is very strong."

India will start their campaign against Bangladesh on February 20 before taking on arch-rivals Pakistan on February 23. India’s last group game will be against New Zealand on March 2.