'Does Indian cricket deserve this?' - Former Indian cricketer questions Virat Kohli's form based on numbers after poor performance against Australia

The outrage against senior players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma seems valid because of their consistent failures in red-ball cricket. At the time when they are needed the most, they bailed out, leaving the youngsters to finish the job. Well, that's not how things are supposed to be done. Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan has raised questions about Kohli and his numbers since 2021. In the last five years, Kohli has an average of 28, which is ridiculous. 

"It's been five years. You are such a big player and your average in the last five years has been close to 28. Does Indian cricket deserve this? Does Indian cricket deserve an average of 28 from their best player? Absolutely not, they deserve better than this. He has had an average of 21 since October 2024. The Indian team doesn't deserve that. Even a young player will give you an average of 21. You expect more than this from Virat. If your career average is close to 50, these are numbers to be ashamed of," said Irfan Pathan during a discussion on Star Sports. 

Kohli should be answerable to all the questions asked and concerns raised about his performance because carrying forward a player just because of his legacy is just senseless. At this point, the Board should be more concerned about an ICC tournament that is slipping away from India's hands because of their senior players. 

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Virat Kohli's persistent issue with outside off-stump balls prevails

In the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024, Virat Kohli's struggle against the outside off-stump balls has become quite evident. The Australians have used this against him in most of the games, urging him to play cover drive, leading to a dismissal. Unfortunately, Kohli hasn't learned to control his urge to play the 4th stump ball in red-ball cricket. 

Well, this has been an issue since 2018, and it hasn't been rectified yet. A player of his calibre should look into this issue and fix it before people start questioning. However, even after playing for more than 16 years now, Kohli's carelessness towards his approach against outside off-stump ball seems disappointing.