Reports have emerged that Virat Kohli wants to say good bye to Test cricket, a format that has been the closest to his heart. BCCI is reportedly trying to convince Kohli to change his mind because of the upcoming tour to England but one thing is certain: the end is near, if not now. (More Cricket News)
Kohli's retirement will not just be a big heartbreak for the cricket fans all over the world but will also leave the Indian red ball team in a spot of bother. If he leaves before the England tour, the lack of experience will hamper India's chances massively with only an out-of-form Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja being the long-time veterans in the side.
Also, it will be an underwhelming finish for Kohli's Test career if he chooses to hang his boots now. The last few years have been horrible for India's long-time number four and it seems the star batter has lost the will power to turn things around. The stats tell the story of his downfall as a Test batter.
Virat Kohli Test Stats
Kohli is 770 runs away from becoming only the fourth Indian to score 10000 runs but from the reports emerging, it does not seem he wants to carry on till that milestone.
Unlike his ODI career, Kohli's Test career did not achieve great heights right from the word go. He made his debut in June 2011 against West Indies in Kingston. After a decent start Kohli ran into the greatness of James Anderson and co in England in 2014. He could only score 134 runs across 10 innings in England and that led to a big question mark on his ability to play overseas.
However, he bounced back with a career-defining series in Australia in 2014-15 where he scored four centuries four Test matches and plundered 692 runs. He also took over as the captain of the side in the series and then led India to new heights in Test cricket.
A few years later, Kohli reached his prime where he was virtually undismissable and could score as many runs as he wanted. Wherever he went he scored big runs. Subcontinent, England, South Africa, Australia, he conquered them all.
From 2016-19, Kohli scored 4208 runs at an average of 66.79 with 16 centuries and 10 fifties. Opposition teams knew that if Kohli got a start, he will go big. This was also the period where he scored all seven of his Test double centuries and India was easily the most dominant Test team during this phase.
It needed a pandemic for Kohli to stop scoring big runs in Test cricket and since 2020 his form dipped. The ability to score those big runs disappeared and mistakes started to creep in in his game against both pace and spin.
In last five years, Kohli's Test numbers cut a sorry figure. He averages just 32.09 in 65 innings. To understand how big of a run drought it is, you need to see how 65 is just a little less than one-third of the 210 total Test innings that he has played. So, for almost one-third of his career, the big runs have not been coming. The overall average, which was threatening to touch 60 at his peak, has now come down to 46.9, not fitting for the lofty standards that the batting great set for himself.
There are troubles against spin at home and pace away. Kohli in Tests now looks like a pale shadow from the Kohli who used to rule red ball cricket in his heydays. The time to bid adieu is near but is there a last good run left in Kohli? The management thinks there is some gas left in the tank. But what does Kohli think?
