With Virat Kohli coming to town, the Australian media has shifted its focus to the former India captain even though he has not taken up the leadership duties this time. But Australia’s skipper Kohli in particular was a different beast. After all, he is the first Indian captain to lead his team to a Test series win in Australia. With Rohit Sharma, still stranded in Mumbai, set to skip the first Test in Perth, Jasprit Bumrah has been appointed as the designated vice-captain and he will be out on the toss field when the first Test gets underway at the Optus Stadium next Friday.
But it is Kohli who is getting all the attention from the Australian media. Several local publications are pulling out all the stops to support “The King.”
There’s a huge picture on the main page of the Sydney Morning Herald next to the headline “A Heavy Crown”.
VIRAT KOHLI, Sydney Morning Herald. pic.twitter.com/MdBduCIOyU
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) November 15, 2024
But The West Australian took the headline a step further by describing Kohli as the “King of Cricket”.
“THE WEST AUSTRALIAN SPORT” cover
– This is Kollywood, Australia….!!!! pic.twitter.com/mTJsFbdqxu
—Jones. (@CricCrazyJohns) November 15, 2024
But these publications also do not miss the opportunity to remind us of Kohli’s dominant performance in red-ball cricket over the last five years.
Kohli’s current form is a cause for concern. In 19 international matches this year, the 80-run Centurion has scored just 488 runs at an average of 20.33, with a top score of 76 with just two half-centuries in 25 innings. His struggles in Test cricket have been particularly problematic. , considering his past dominance of the format.
From 2016 to 2019, Kohli was at his peak, scoring 4,208 runs, including 16 centuries and 10 fifties, at an astonishing average of 66.79. He also hit a record of seven double centuries, the most by a skipper in Tests. However, his form has declined dramatically since 2020, with him scoring 1,838 runs in 34 Tests at an average of 31.68. In just 200 years and 950 points.
His struggles were further highlighted in the recent home Test series against Bangladesh and New Zealand. Kohli scored just 192 runs in 10 innings with half a century at an average of 21.33. This decline in performance left him in the top 20 of the ICC men’s Test batting rankings for the first time in a decade.
(including ANI input)
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