With yet another drop catch, Virat Kohli registers unwanted fielding record

India vs England: The India captain has dropped the most number of catches in T20Is since 2019.

Virat Kohli may have expressed his unhappiness with the body language of his players in the second-half of the third T20I against England, but the India captain was pretty much a part of it. Kohli's fitness is a blueprint for players world-wide, and due to it, it is almost believed that the India skipper is one of the best fielders in world cricket at the moment. Well, if statistics are anything to go by, it's not quite true.

Virat Kohli has clearly not been at his best in catching. (Getty Images)

Despite being one of the most agile athletes on the field, Kohli's catching has let him down lately. Once known for pulling off incredible catches, such as one-handed running stunners, Kohli has wobbled against some of the easiest and basic catching opportunities in T20 internationals. It was in December of last year, that Kohli put down a dolly of Matthew Wade against Australia in a T20I in Sydney, one of the easiest chances you'll see. And on Tuesday, Kohli put down a chance - not the toughest - of Jos Buttler when the batsman was on 76.

Buttler reverse-swept leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, and Kohli, who was at backward point, did well to move quickly to his right, but failed to hold on to it. Had he grabbed it, Kohli would have prevented himself from registering an unwanted fielding record. Yes, the Buttler drop was Kohli's sixth in T20I cricket since 2019, which is the most by a fielder from a Test-playing nation. The skipper surpassed England all-rounder Chris Jordan's tally of five dropped catches.

Virat Kohli has dropped six catches in T20Is since the start of 2019. (Sports Interactive)

The list packs another surprise. Behind Kohli and Jordan, at No. 3 is Australia's Steve Smith, who has put down four catches, as has leg-spinner Chahal. Surprisingly enough, Kohli also has the second-least number of catches among the four, taking nine, seven more than Chahal's two, while Jordan leads the chart with 15 successful catches, followed by Smith's 11.

While Kohli has been surprisingly average with his catching, two of his worst drops came during IPL 2020 in September last year. In a match against Punjab Kings, Kohli, captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore, dropped KL Rahul twice in two overs - both being fair, regulation chances - allowing the batsman a reprieve as he went on to score a century.