Virat Kohli’s slump in form has lasted for the better part of half a decade. In 42 Tests since 2019, Kohli has averaged 36.56 with just four hundreds; meagre numbers per his own lofty standards.
Ahead of a crucial series in Australia for both Kohli and India, former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar has said that the 36-year-old’s decline has more to do with poor technique than with the slowing of reflexes that come with age, highlighting his poor footwork which he claims to be a result of poor judgement of length. Manjrekar put particular emphasis on his recent struggles to navigate spin
“His judgment of length, whether it’s spin or pace, has gone down. That comes back to him. He was one of India’s best players of spin, [and] played a lot off the back foot,” Manjrekar told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“Now there’s a lot of front-foot play in everything he does, so his perception of length has not been great. That’s a reason he doesn’t have the kind of numbers he’s had in the past. Once he’s on the front foot, the balls he used to cut and pull off the back foot, he was defending. He’s just made his own life more difficult.”
Uncertainty plagued Kohli in India’s recent 0-3 series loss against New Zealand at home, Manjrekar says.
“Clearly, in that series, because the conditions were such [that] he wasn’t feeling confident or hopeful, he wasn’t trusting his defence, he was slightly nervous of mind and uncertain. The clarity at the moment has not been 100 per cent. That comes with pressure, a lack of runs, and he’s not a young 25- to 27-year-old any more,” the player-turned-commentator asserted.
