Sydney: Has the world seen the last of Virat Kohli in Test cricket, or will he be able to revive his career and enjoy a second wind?
The flag-bearer of Indian batting since the retirement of Sachin Tendulkar, Kohli yelled at himself and punched his thigh, as he got out for the eighth time edging to the slip cordon or keeper in his nine visits to the crease in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
The 36-year-old’s career was hanging by a thread after he once again fell victim to a back-of-length delivery on a sixth-stump line on the second day of the fifth and final Test against Australia, the bowler being the self-effacing but relentless Scott Boland.
His problems seem unsolvable at the moment as it is more mental than technical.
The sameness in the mode of his dismissals mean it has become his second nature to “fish” at deliveries on the corridor of uncertainty.
Kohli batted in nine innings across five Tests and barring the second innings century at Perth in the opening Test, and a 36 in the first innings in Melbourne, he has failed to get going.
Remove the 136 runs he had aggregated over his two innings in Perth and Melbourne, and Kohli is left with just 54 runs across his seven other completed knocks.
For a champion player, it is very difficult to take a decision when he is going through his career’s all-time lowest phase.
It is understood that Kohli is in no mood to retire and wants to play for India till the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has been constantly saying that the right-hander would continue.
But an ex-national selector looked at the situation differently. He asked how Kohli plans to convince the selectors for the England tour in June without playing any tangible red-ball cricket.
“It would be very hard for selectors to pick either Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli on the basis of IPL performance or form. Their has to be some red-ball cricket for them in lead-up to England tour. Else you can’t justify their selections,” the former selectors told PTI.
If sources are to be believed there is no indication as of now that Kohli intends to play the Ranji Trophy, which restarts from January 23.
Delhi will play Saurashtra from January 23-26 in an away game in Rajkot when the Ranji Trophy resumes.
In the next round of matches from January 30 to February 2, Kohli’s state team Delhi is scheduled to play Railways.
However, playing domestic red-ball cricket in India in January and February for Test matches in England in June practically won’t make sense.
Kohli lives in his new home in London for better part and only joins the national team or IPL side before the start of a series or tournament.
India’s next assignment is a three-match ODI series against England from February 6 followed by the Champions Trophy (from February 19 to March 9) and then the IPL starts on March 14.
Clearly there is no window to play any red-ball tournament for preparation unless he skips the IPL for a county stint to gear up for the England tour.
Kohli is one of the biggest brands of the IPL and he won’t be losing a chance to captain RCB once again this year and fulfil his dream of winning at least one IPL trophy before drawing the curtains on his glorious career.
The only other option left is talking to selectors and playing at least couple of India A games during its shadow tour to England just before the senior team’s tour begins with the first Test at Leeds from June 18.
As of now, Kohli has played his last Test at SCG. But when the name is as big as Virat Kohli, there could always be a twist in the tale.
