Former India wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik has suggested that senior batter Virat Kohli might need a return to the domestic grind to regain his batting form against spin.
Kohli last scored a Test hundred in the West Indies in mid-2023 and has since played 12 innings while crossing the 50-run mark only on two occasions. The India No. 4’s Test average has dropped to a shade above 48 as he struggled against left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner during India’s stunning series defeat to New Zealand in Pune.
Kohli’s numbers in whites have taken a hit a massive hit since 2020, having notched up only two hundreds in the period. Having shared the dressing room with Kohli in India and Royal Challengers Bengaluru colours in the IPL, Karthik said Kohli will need to come up with solutions to prevent a recurring pattern of dismissals against spin.
| Matches | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 50s/100s |
| 30 | 52 | 1717 | 34.34 | 49.63 | 2/8 |
“Virat Kohli has not had it easy. The series has not been good to him, three out of four innings, he has disappointed. It’s a recurring pattern 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 superstardom, you will be thrown challenges and here is another challenge. India likes to play on pitches that aid spin, what is his gameplan?” said Karthik while speaking to Cricbuzz.
Back to domestic grind?
Karthik said Kohli will probably require a turn back to domestic cricket to find his groove against spin. Kohli, who will turn 36 this week, has not featured in a domestic First-Class match since 2012.
“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.
“What he needs to do is probably go back to domestic cricket and focus on what needs to be done with the current rules of DRS. There is no doubt the left-arm spinners pose a big threat,” he added.
Kohli has only aggregated 88 runs in four innings against New Zealand, with a best of 70 in the first Test in Bengaluru.
Virat Kohli’s last 12 innings show his lean patch has now lasted a year:
17(40) vs New Zealand, Pune
1 (9) vs New Zealand, Pune
70 (102) vs New Zealand, Bengaluru
0 (9) vs New Zealand, Bengaluru
29 (37)* vs Bangladesh, Kanpur
47 (35) vs Bangladesh, Kanpur
17 (37) vs Bangladesh, Chennai
6 (6) vs Bangladesh, Chennai
12 (11) vs South Africa, Cape Town
46 (59) vs South Africa, Cape Town
76 (82) vs South Africa, Johannesburg
38 (64) vs South Africa, Johannesburg
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