Virat Kohli's ex-teammate refuses to back down after being confronted over past criticism: 'The problem with him was...'

Hindustan Times

12 hours ago

Virat Kohli brought an end to his Test career in a fairly abrupt manner on the eve of the recently-concluded tour of England. It was a sudden decision, one that caught everyone by surprise in the cricketing fraternity — but in truth, one which came at a time when Kohli's powers were on the wane, with his average dipping and trademark performances growing rarer and rarer. Virat Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket earlier this year.(PTI)
Kohli had his fair share of critics in the latter portion of his career as he failed to establish himself on too many games, with many asking why he kept being dismissed in similar fashions and why he wasn't able to produce on the same level as his contemporary rivals still did.
His former teammate Irfan Pathan was very frank about how he felt it was fair to ask those questions of Kohli, stating that backing a player who has been struggling for nearly 5 years is just asking for trouble.
"Virat Kohli had a slump in 2019-2020. You can see my social media of that time — I backed Kohli a lot," Pathan told Lallantop in an interview. "I feel that when a big player faces his first slump, he should be backed. He deserves it too, because he won many matches for the team. But if this slump lasts for five years, then it is not right. In the end, the team is the most important."
'The problem with Virat Kohli in Test cricket…'
Kohli's poor run of form in the last five or six years of his career saw a big dip in his average, while he saw himself outpaced by the likes of Joe Root and Steven Smith. By the end, while questions of retirement were not that loud, the criticism was enough to force Kohli to step aside and let the next generation come through.
Pathan explained that once Kohli figured out that he couldn't pose the same headaches as he once did to opposing bowling attacks, he knew his time was drawing to an end.
"When a player gets out in the same way, the opposing team will get you out with Plan A itself. They will not need to go to Plan B. It is the job of a champion player to take you from Plan A to Plan B," said Pathan.
"The problem with Virat Kohli in Test cricket was that he was getting out in the same manner continuously. This does not mean that he is a bad player. He is a great player. But what is happening is also true. We have to tell what is happening, with details,' concluded the former all-rounder, explaining his point of view on the matter.
Kohli remains in contention for ODI cricket, which remains his strongest format, but it will mean he will not play competitive cricket until the October ODI series vs Australia.