Team India fans lashed out at Virat Kohli after the former skipper's terrible run with the bat continued in the just-concluded Test series against Bangladesh.
When the Test series in Bangladesh began, Virat Kohli was expected to bring an end to his long wait for a ton in whites, having last made a hundred in the longest version of the sport against the same team in 2019, in India's maiden Day-Night Test at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
However, after leaving the pavilion for a score of 1 in his final innings of 2022 on Saturday, Virat Kohli finished the Bangladesh series with only 45 runs in four knocks.
With his cheap dismissal at the hands of Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the fourth innings of the second Test against Bangladesh, Virat Kohli equaled his worst-ever run in the five-day version of the game, having not scored a fifty in his last 10 innings.
The only previous time the former India captain recorded such numbers was in 2014 when he could only make 134 runs during a terrible tour of England when James Anderson made him his bunny. Virat Kohli left the shores of the United Kingdom with an average of 13.40 in five Tests.
His last 10 knocks in Tests have been pathetic, to say the least, and his scores in all these innings read as 1 & 24 vs Bangladesh in the second Test, 19* & 1 vs Bangladesh in the first Test, 20 & 11 vs England, 13 & 23 vs Sri Lanka in the second Test, 45 vs Sri Lanka in the first Test and 29 vs South Africa in the second essay of the third Test.
Leaving aside a hundred, his last half-century in Test cricket came in the Cape Town Test against South Africa in the first innings, which was also his final match as the national team's skipper. Kohli had scored a well-compiled 79 off 201 deliveries at the time.
Virat Kohli's trolling from the fans came after he could only post scores of 1, 19 not out, 24, and 1 against Bangladesh.
Another failure from Virat Kohli. Virat Kohli's poor performance in Test cricket continues , his last 4 Test innings 1, 19, 24,1.This tour to Bangladesh is a forgettable one for Virat Kohli .#BANvIND #INDvBAN #INDvsBangladesh #ViratKohli𓃵 #ViratKohli #Kohli #TestCricket #WTC23 pic.twitter.com/pB43MEGoZm
— Usman Shaikh (@shaikusman_7) December 24, 2022
Virat Kohli's Test average since 01st January 2020 is 23.94 (22 Tests, 40 inns, 956 runs). Kohli has not scored Int'l Test century in his last 50 inns, last Int'l Test 100 was against Shakib-less Bangladesh in India on 23rd November 2019. Most over-rated cricketer ever. #Cricket pic.twitter.com/31lxaZvXML
— Nihar_45 (@NiharxHitman1) December 24, 2022
Bhai tu rahne de, what was the highest score in the test series vs Bangladesh so far, out for 1, shame on you, please retire and give chance to youngsters, atleast give chance to youngsters when we are playing against small teams, so many youngsters are waiting for a chance.
— Hari (@Hari42312019) December 24, 2022
@imVkohli 22balls nd u just scored 1 run today in the second innings against Bangladesh.
Shame on you your ego is the big reason of your downfall, isse acha to retirement lele..very pathetic performance.@AnushkaSharma @BCCI— Vineet Ahlawat (@VineetAhlawat8) December 24, 2022
Duckholi out already 25 ball 1 run against Bangladesh 🤣🤣
— Ali Muhammad 🐐 (@AliMuha80121152) December 24, 2022
The Delhi-born cricket star's poor display with the bat meant that he finished the series with an average of 15, his second-worst performance ever in a two-game bilateral series in the Asian subcontinent. It was also his fourth-worst show with the bat in a series overall.
While some Indian cricket supporters called him an “overrated”, another set of fans termed his performance against Bangladesh as “pathetic”.
On the other hand, some even blamed his “ego” for his diminishing returns with the bat in the longest version of the sport.
Not just the fans, even his childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma was left fuming with his performance in Bangladesh.
Calling Virat Kohli's dismissals as “unacceptable”, Rajkumar Sharma said that he should have shown a bit more intent, especially at the start of his innings, something he claimed led to his downfall in the Bangladesh capital.
“A batter is quite disappointed after he gets out, and Virat Kohli is very aggressive by nature,” Rajkumar Sharma told India News.
“But the way he has been getting out is not acceptable. It's unfortunate to see a batter of his stature struggle against Bangladeshi spinners. He should have shown more intent,” Rajkumar Sharma added.
“With both the mid-on and mid-off fielders inside the circle, he could have played a bit more freely. Unless you unsettle a spinner, he is not going to let you play. You need to do something innovative like playing a slog sweep or sweeping an outside off ball,” Rajkumar Sharma summed up.
Virat Kohli's continued horrendous run in whites came after he managed to turn things around in limited-overs cricket in recent months.
Earlier in September, the Delhi-born cricketer finally ended his nearly three-year wait for an international ton, having slammed his maiden T20I hundred against Afghanistan during the Asia Cup.
Subsequently, Virat Kohli set the T20 World Cup in Australia on fire with a series of sublime knocks, including a sensational unbeaten 82-run-knock against Pakistan which many cricket pundits claimed was the best-ever innings in the format.
Yet Team India failed to win the competition, bowing out in the semifinals to eventual champions England. But Virat Kohli finished as the tournament’s top-scorer with 296 runs in six matches at an incredible average of 98.66.
More recently, Virat Kohli Kohli brought an end to his ODI century drought as he smashed his 44th ton in the 50-over format against Bangladesh this month, going past Ricky Ponting to occupy the second spot in the list of men with the most international hundreds.
Virat Kohli will return to action against Sri Lanka next month when the islanders visit the subcontinental superpowers for a T20I and ODI series.
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