Virat Kohli’s terrible run with the bat continued in the Border Gavaskar Trophy as he once again became the bunny to an outside the off stump delivery. Barring the one off century when the Indian batting lineup had a clinical performance, his batting has remained off colours. Even before the BGT began, there were growing concerns about his rough batting patch in the Test, yet the country pinned its hope, hope that Cometh the hour, Cometh the Man, and Virat will rise from the ashes like a phoenix, and let his ‘MRF Genius’ give it back to the Aussies on their home turf. However, the tables have turned awfully against the Indian batting legend, with retirement chorus picking steam, prompting even Ravi Shashtri to take a ‘legend jab’ at him. Before the series, no one would have thought that Kohli, always ranked among the greats and contemporary Fav 4, would be roughing shoulders with an boorish Aussie kid and it would take none other than Bumrah to save his grace at the hands of Aussie no-body.
In his penultimate outing in Australia, Virat Kohli got dismissed for a meagre 17 runs. Now, an embarashing factoid has come to light, which even Virat’s naysayers would have never imagined in their nightmares a few years ago — a shameful first inning batting average that boxes him among ‘batters’ like Keshav Maharaj, Jasprit Bumrah, England’s Shoaib Bashi.
As per first innings statics, Jasprit Bumrah has a better batting average as compared to Virat Kohli, since 2024. Kohli’s first-innings average since 2024 now stands at just 7.00, one of the lowest among active players. This slump is particularly surprising given Kohli’s status as one of India’s greatest-ever batters. His weakness against deliveries outside off-stump stands exposed. He has been dismissed 22 times in this form since 2021 and it was exposed once again in the Sydney test, which for many could be his last on Aussie soil. Kohli’s failure to capitalise on another opportunity has left many questioning his form and advocate for his unceremonius ouster or even a contrived retirement.
To make the contrast even more glaring, Jasprit Burmah’s first innings batting average is almost 1.5 times that of Virat Kohli, stats that speaks volume about Kohli’s slump.
Taking into account at least five Test innings since 2024, Virat only fares better than Keshav Maharaj —
- 5.4 – Keshav Maharaj
- 7.0 – Virat Kohli
- 8.0 – Jasprit Bumrah
- 8.3 – Shoaib Bashi
Furthermore, among his batting peers with at least 20 runs in the first innings of a Test since 2024, Kohli holds the lowest average.
Here’s how Indian Indian has fared in first-innings since 2024:
- Ravindra Jadeja: 224 runs (Average: 56.00) in Innings: 4
- Yashasvi Jaiswal: 298 runs, Average: 42.57, Innings: 7
- Ravichandran Ashwin: 192 runs, Average: 38.40, Innings: 5
- Rishabh Pant: 157 runs, Average: 31.40, Innings: 5
- Rohit Sharma: 156 runs, Average: 31.20, Innings: 5
- Sarfaraz Khan: 62 runs, Average: 31.00, Innings: 2
- Dhruv Chand Jurel: 57 runs, Average: 28.50, Innings: 2
- Nitish Kumar Reddy: 83 runs, Average: 27.66, Innings: 3
- Shreyas Iyer: 27 runs, Average: 27.00, Innings: 1
- Axar Patel: 27 runs, Average: 27.00, Innings: 1
- Rajat Patidar: 37 runs, Average: 18.50, Innings: 2
- Shubman Gill: 85 runs, Average: 17.00, Innings: 5
- KL Rahul: 83 runs, Average: 16.60, Innings: 5
- Jasprit Bumrah: 60 runs, Average: 10.00, Innings: 7
- Virat Kohli: 35 runs, Average: 7.00, Innings: 5
Kohli’s fall from grace is further highlighted by the contrasting form of other Indian players, especially Ravindra Jadeja, who has averaged 56.00 in the first innings since 2024. Despite being one of the finest batsmen in the modern game of cricket, when it comes to first innings performance, Virat Kohli finds himself at the lower rung compared to his colleagues in the team.
While the situation is undoubtedly concerning, Kohli’s resilience and experience make it possible that he could turn the tide in future matches. However, for now, his struggles remain a point of focus and concern for both him and the Indian team.
