Published By: Saksham Mishra

How ViratKohli slowed down on path to greatness

ViratKohli still has a long way to go to achieve greatness in test cricket.

Still spectacular numbers

He currently sits at 8043 runs from 101 test matches at an average of 49.95 with 27 centuries and 28 half centuries. Kohli has the best of 254 not out and is still in contention to finish as the second highest run scorer for India overall behind Sachin Tendulkar.

But for that, he still has to leapfrog VVS Laxman, Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid all of whom sit ahead of him in the list of all time run getters for India.

Tendulkar's record beyond reach

Sachin Tendulkar with 15921 runs is a bridge too far even if Kohli strikes from now. ViratKohli was on the path to greatness in test cricket with 27 centuries at the beginning of 2021. However, he wasn't able to capitalize from then on and hasn't added much to his tally.

India have had a few tough tours including that of England and South Africa. The pitches at home have been made to assist spinners and haven't offered a lot of runs. Still, ViratKohli has left a few hundreds on the table and he would be the first one to accept that.

Kohli was in red hot form between 2016 and 2018 when he scored over 1000 runs per year for fun. In fact, he averaged 75.94 in 2016, 75.64 in 2017 and 55.08 in 2018.

However, he hasn't been able to produce numbers anywhere close to that from 2022 onwards. While he averaged a mere 19.33 in 2021, Kohli has scored at 28.21 in 2022. His average stands at under 50 for the first time in 5 years.

No specific weakness

As opposed to 2014 when had a specific weakness when James Anderson was nicking him outside the off stump repeatedly, Kohli has been getting out in various fashions across formats.

This can both be a good thing and bad thing for him. The good thing is that he does not appear to have a specific weakness and hence it is a matter of only one innings when he gets his form and confidence back.

The bad thing might be that he cannot pinpoint an error and work to get better at it in order to get his career back on track.

Kohli needs to get his technique back in order for him to resume his journey on the path to greatness once again.