Former India captain Virat Kohli's struggles with the bat continued in the recently concluded fifth Test against England. While it has been over three years since Kohli scored an international century, his form with the bat has also seen a dip this year with his performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL). This seemed to continue in the Edgbaston Test, in which he was out for 11 and 20.
On the other hand, Joe Root has been in the form of his life in this period and surpassed Kohli's record for most Test centuries among active cricketers during the match. Kohli's former India teammate Zaheer Khan said that the 33-year-old would be feeling just as disappointed as his fans when he gets out and he will always be compared with the best in the world, regardless of his form.
“Any player would feel disappointed, especially Virat Kohli. He has set such high standards for himself and so expectations will always be there from him. He is part of the fab four with Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and Joe Root,” said Zaheer on Cricbuzz.
“So whenever one of them makes runs the other's name comes along always. His comparison will always be with those kind of players. I am sure he would also be hoping to get back to the kind of form that we have not been able to see for quite a long time,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“So whenever one of them makes runs the other's name comes along always. His comparison will always be with those kind of players. I am sure he would also be hoping to get back to the kind of form that we have not been able to see for quite a long time,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Zaheer said that Kohli may feel that this Test was a lost chance for him to end his drought of centuries in Test cricket. His last international century had also come in a Test match and India don't play another long-form match until December this year. However, he said that the former India captain shouldn't think too much
"From that point of view, yes, he might think that this was a lost chance. Particularly the way he was batting in the second innings. He got out to a great ball. That has to be always be kept in mind, there are times when you are out because of your own mistakes and when you are out to a good ball. With the latter you can't think too much about it.