This year, Virat Kohli’s test form has been a little questionable, as he struggles to score runs easily. Firstly he was seen struggling against England, then against New Zealand and finally against Australia.
In 19 test innings in 2024 he only managed 417 runs with an average of 24.52, which is his third lowest average since his debut. He only managed one century and one half-century throughout the year. This form raises a concern towards the fan and also towards the selection committee.
Now former Indian batter and currently the commentator, Sanjay Manjrekar suggested that Kohli should play more red ball cricket to regain his form. He also suggested the star player to play the county matches as Cheteshwar Pujara played. This might help him against England for the test series which will start from June 20 in England.
“Kohli needs to play a lot of red-ball cricket. The first Test in England is in June, while the County Championship begins in April. He could join a county team, as Pujara did, and gain valuable match practice. India can then evaluate his performances in the initial Test matches. That wouldn’t be good for Indian cricket. Playing county cricket could be a very sensible move for him.” Manjrekar said in Star Sports.
Earlier, Virat was named in the Ranji squad for Delhi where he was expected to play against Saurashtra in Rajkot but unfortunately he had to miss the test due to his neck stiffness.
Just after the Border-Gavaskar trophy he went to the hospital and took an injection for his neck stiffness. He also told the BCCI about his absence from the Ranji Trophy due to this problem.
The Champions Trophy squad is most probably to be picked today. But Kohli is expected to get fit before the tournament gets started. India is currently in Group A along with Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh. Their first match will be against Bangladesh which will be on February 20. All the matches of Men In Blue will be in Dubai.
Sanjay Manjrekar profile credit: wikipedia.com