Former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik feels that Virat Kohli should go back to the domestic cricket route in order to gain form in the red-ball format. Karthik expressed his concerns over Virat Kohli’s struggles against spin and his inability to perform in the ongoing Test series against New Zealand. Kohli had a disappointing outing in the 2nd Test against New Zealand in Pune as India suffered a series defeat after 12 years on their home soil. Kohli managed just the scores of 1 and 17 in two innings as he was dismissed by left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner on both the occassions.
“Kohli has not had it easy, the series has not been good to him, three out of four innings, he has disappointed. It’s obviously a recurring partner where spinners have troubled him, and I think he will go and figure out what he needs to do to come out stronger. He is a man, who is searching for answers. When you reach that level of genius and super stardom, you will be thrown challenges and here is another challenge. India likes to play on pitches that aids spin, what is his gameplan?” said Karthik.
Kohli has a worrisome record against spin as in 50 innings since 2021, Kohli has been dismissed 24 times against spin and as been averaging 33.38 in the format. July 2023 was the last time Kohli hit a Test ton, his 29th. The veteran batter would be aiming to make a comeback in the 3rd and final Test to salvage some pride for his team.
Dinesh gave a reality check that Kohli hasn’t scored big runs in the Test format since a long time.
“We all know what he is capable of, this series was not meant to be. Like the fans have been saying, he has not done it for a long time and that we cannot run away from. We don’t want to sugarcoat it because we want to be as objective in assessing any player, any performance, at the moment. Virat Kohli’s Test record in the last 2-3 years, has not been great against spin,” said Karthik.
