It’s been over two years since Virat Kohli last scored a century in Test cricket, or any format for that matter. In 23 innings in Test cricket since hitting 136 vs Bangladesh in Kolkata in 2019, Kohli has recorded five half-centuries.
While there’s no immediate threat to his place in the India eleven considering his excellent record across formats, former England spinner Monty Panesar feels that another poor return could weaken Kohli’s claim despite him being the Test captain.
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India are in South Africa for a three- Test series which starts from December 26 and Kohli would be hoping to score plenty of runs, hoping to end 2021 on a high – a year that saw him stepping down as India T20I captain and then sacked as the ODI leadership role too.
Panesar feels that the slump though will serve as a motivation factor for the 33-year-old who continues to average just over 50 in Tests.
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“I think he (Kohli) will be very motivated because he knows that if he does not score a lot of runs in Test cricket then that position could be up for grabs as well,” Panesar told news agency YEARS. “So, he is under pressure to perform but he needs to do well and actually get some wins.
“Even India are winning when he does not score the runs (which) still is a positive for Virat Kohli because he knows how to get the best out of an individual. So, he needs to put that aside now and think about how to win in South Africa which is far more important and that is what I think BCCI wants from him. He wants to get the best eleven out there to win this,” he added.
Panesar though sides with the BCCI for handing over the white-ball captaincy to Rohit Sharma
“I think the board made the right decision because you need one captain for ODI and T20 cricket, and Sourav Ganguly made the right decision because he was one of the first cricketers who actually brought in that fight to beat other oppositions away from India, and especially in white-ball cricket. He very much knows from the leadership point of view that one captain is already better. Two big tournaments are coming up with the T20 World Cup and also the World Cup in India (and this) is the best time to have a white-ball captain and let (Kohli) focus on Test duties,” Panesar said.
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India have never won a Test series on South African soil and Panesar feels that since the home team is in a bit of disarray, the tourists have a chance to capitalise on that and create history.
“..India’s bowling department is the strongest that has been for a long time and it is stronger than the South African team. South African team has been in a bit of disarray if you look at the administration side of the things and they have got slightly off-field distraction as well. Try and investigate things with the likes of Graeme Smith and Mark Boucher. So, that could be a distraction that could help India which they can show that we are a stronger team in South African conditions,” Panesar said.
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