Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif believes Virat Kohli will soon come out of his ongoing lean patch in Test cricket and return to form before the next World Test Championship (WTC) cycle if he plays domestic cricket again.
Kohli had a dismal outing in the recently concluded Border Gavaskar Trophy, managing just 190 runs in nine innings. Questions were raised over his technique after he fell victim to outside-off deliveries on eight occasions. Last year, too, his batting average in Tests was only 24.53.
Pace hasn’t been his only problem either. During the home series against New Zealand, his struggle against left-arm off-spinners was also exposed.
While discussing his performance in the BGT series, Kaif advised Kohli, who hasn’t played the Ranji Trophy in over a decade (mostly due to fixture congestion), to start playing domestic cricket to felicitate his comeback. According to the ex-India batter, Kohli needs more game time to find his rhythm.
“Virat Kohli can make a comeback. He can overcome it, there is no doubt about it. If you have determination, made up your mind that you are going to put your efforts into it, spend time, play domestic cricket, play on turning tracks, and seaming tracks, play practice games, and stay regularly in touch,” Kaif said in a video shared on X (formerly Twitter).
Kaif also slammed the other senior batters of the team, including Rohit Sharma. He reckoned that every international player should compete in domestic cricket and the BCCI must make it mandatory.
If any player doesn’t follow this rule, Kaif wants the management to take harsh calls. He mentioned Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer who were axed from the BCCI’s central contracts reportedly due to their ignorance towards domestic cricket.
“It’s BCCI’s work that senior players play domestic cricket. They recently removed Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer from their contract list. Somewhere, they need to take a harsh call where people are compelled. If there’s an opportunity and you are available, then don’t sit at home. You have to take that call,” Kaif explained.
After a humiliating defeat against Australia, India will now shift their focus to the Champions Trophy. Kohli and Rohit will seek redemption at the ICC event, slated to begin on February 19. Before heading to the UAE for the multi-nation tournament, India will play a white-ball series against England at home.
