NEWS
Follow UsFormer India cricketer Irfan Pathan slammed Virat Kohli for his poor output in Test cricket in the last five years. His outburst came after India lost the Sydney Test and, for the first time ever, failed to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
“In 2024, Kohli averages below 15 in the first innings [actually he averages just 7 in the first innings], where he has to set a match,’ Pathan said during a post-match discussion on Star Sports, the official India broadcast rights holder of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25.
Delving further into Kohli’s poor performances, Pathan, who represented India in 173 matches across formats, said, “In the last five years, Kohli has averaged less than 30 [actually it is 30.73 since January 2020].
"Is it the standard of a senior batter that Team India deserves? If you give youngsters a long rope, they will also give a similar 25-30 average.”
Kohli has had one of the poorest Test records since 2020, scoring only 2028 runs in 60 innings at an average of 30.72. Among those who have played 60 or more innings during this period, nobody averages less.
In this BGT, if the Perth century is taken out of Kohli’s record, his average would fall to 12 in eight innings.
Pathan also questioned Kohli’s mindset on why he did not play domestic cricket for the last 12 years and why he does not take advice from senior cricketers.
“Even the great Sachin Tendulkar played domestic cricket after Kohli last played his domestic match in 2012. We are not degrading him. All I want to say is that there is no harm in seeking advice from your senior cricketers like Sunil Gavaskar and others,” said the 40-year-old.
