Concerns about Virat Kohli‘s form and future in the Test format continued after he was dismissed for just three runs in the first innings of the third Test match in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Brisbane. The failure at the Gabba saw his average hit an eight-year low, leaving him on the brink of an unwanted first in his illustrious career.
The tour of Australia, potentially the final in his career, was labelled a make-or-break series for Kohli, who had been going through a lean patch of form over the last 12 months. The series against New Zealand at home, preceding the tour, saw Kohli record his worst performance on home turf in seven years.
However, he quickly raised hopes of a resurgence with a century in the Perth opener. It also saw the 36-year-old return to the top 20 in ICC Test rankings, after falling below the mark for the first time in 10 years following the New Zealand series. But it turned out to be a false dawn.
As familiar weakness against the deliveries outside the off-stump line emerged yet again, Kohli succumbed to scores of 7 and 11 in the Adelaide pink ball Test, and managed just 3 at the Gabba on Monday. The dismissals sparked major concerns, with Australia great Allan Border left wondering if the former India captain has lost his edge.
Kohli’s average hits eight-year low
Following the failure in the first innings in Brisbane, Kohli’s career record fell to 47.9, the lowest he has recorded since the figure fell to 47.50 during the 2016 home series against England. The current figure, amid his slump, vastly differs from the average he attained in 2019, when it peaked at a career-high 55.10.
Kohli’s average hit 50 for the first time during his 52nd appearance in the format, when he smashed a double century against England in 2016. Kohli never fell below that mark in six years, but after it did fall, following the Bengaluru day-night Test against Sri Lanka in 2022, another 50 Test appearances later, he never managed to get it past 50.
Kohli’s forgettable 2024
Barring the T20 World Cup title win in June, Kohli has had a forgettable run as a batter across formats. In Test cricket, he managed only 376 runs this year in 17 innings, with a solitary ton and a fifty. The poor show in Gabba saw his average in 2024 fall to 25.06, which has left him on the brink of registering his worst-ever figure in a calendar year where he played a minimum of 10 innings. Kohli had recorded his worst average of 25.06 in 2022.
India has barely played the ODI format in 2022, but in T20Is, Kohli averaged only 18 in 10 innings, also his worst in a calendar year where he has at least batted 10 times.
