My first glimpse of Virat Kohli came in Agartala. It was during the knockout stages of the national one-day championship for the Vijay Hazare Trophy. This was early 2009. He had played five ODIs by then, but was yet to score big. However, he came to the Vijay Hazare knockouts with four centuries in the zonal phase. He made another in the capital city of Tripura.
About a year earlier, Aakash Chpora had told me that this youngster was going to become the next big thing from Delhi. Chopra’s assessment was based on the extraordinary powers of application shown by this player still in his teens. His commitment was exceptional, as was seen when he came out to bat and saved a Ranji Trophy game for his team after losing his father the previous night.
As Kohli, who turned 36 today, prepares for his fifth and possibly last Test tour of Australia, he finds himself at a critical juncture. Never before had his ability been questioned by so many. Never before was there a bigger question mark over his mastery over bowling. Truth be told, never before did he appear so fragile and susceptible.
The lone bright spot from the 0-4 whitewash in Australia, where he made his maiden Test century in 2011-12, the knight in the shining armour with four centuries in 2014-15 and captain of the first-ever Indian team to win a Test series Down Under in 2018-19 — he made three-figure scores on each of his first three tours of the country. The lone Test he played in the 2020-21 series before skipping the rest saw him make a sparkling 74 in the first innings before India got shot out for 36 in the second.
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In 13 Tests in Australia, Kohli has 1352 runs with six centuries at an average of 54.08. Sachin Tendulkar averaged 53.20 in the ‘Kangaroo country’, Sunil Gavaskar 51.11, Cheteshwar Pujara 47.28, VVS Laxman 44.14 and Rahul Dravid 41.64. To outnumber so many stalwarts when it comes to batting on the bouncy pitches of Australia shows what Kohli is made of.
These numbers, however, are not an indicator of Kohli the batter of the last few years. In 16 Tests at home since 2020, he has been averaging 29.92, with just one century, on a flat pitch in Ahmedabad in 2023 against Australia. There is enough reason, statistics and expert opinion to suggest that he is not the same player anymore. Something has changed and that is evident in his performance.
As the batting legend of the second decade of the 21st century gets ready for Australia, he is in focus for a different reason. Unlike the last few tours, when the question used to be ‘how many will Kohli get’, it has become ‘can Kohli get any’. That’s a paradigm shift and it is not based on hearsay. Mental and technical, there are chinks in his armour on multiple counts.
Being the fighter he is, who thrives on challenges, this is perhaps one last chance for Kohli to show that he can still do it. He has done that in the past, by making runs in adverse conditions. He excelled in England in 2018 after a disastrous outing in 2014. He has proven people and estimates wrong a number of times. The difference now is, those were a long time back.
It was the 2014-15 tour of Australia which made Kohli the Test batter that he is. In the same country, a decade later, he faces a new challenge. In all likelihood, the series commencing in Perth on November 22 will determine if he still has it in him. If he succeeds, it will mark a new beginning. If he fails, it will possibly mark the end of an era. The next six to seven weeks will be keenly watched.
Also Read: Can Virat Kohli turn it around in Australia?