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Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has questioned Virat Kohli's capability to hit big shots and claimed that the superstar batter can't hit at will like Shubman Gill. While Kohli scored just 22 runs, Gill cracked an unbeaten 101 in India's six-wicket win over Bangladesh in their Champions Trophy 2025 opener.
Manjrekar has attributed Kohli's recent underwhelming ODI form to a combination of diminished hitting ability and a dented confidence stemming from the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Virat Kohli can't hit at will like Shubman Gill: Sanjay Manjrekar
Kohli's struggles continued in India's Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh on February 20, where he was dismissed for just 22 runs. This marked his 12th consecutive innings without a century, a streak that began after the first Test of the BGT in Perth. Of particular concern is Kohli's vulnerability against leg-spinners, as his dismissal to Rishad Hossain in this match was the third time in as many ODI innings that he has fallen to a leggie. This pattern is reminiscent of his struggles against outside off-stump deliveries from pacers during the Australian tour. Manjrekar feels Kohli doesn't have big games anymore.
“He still wants to show that he’s up there for a fight, and I am starting to see maybe there’s a little bit of bravado as well, and why not? You can’t be revealing what’s inside you. Virat doesn’t have the big game anymore. We’ve seen on occasion him playing the big shot, but he can’t hit at will like a Shubman Gill does," Manjrekar said on ESPNcricinfo, as quoted by PTI.
“What happened is, after that hundred in Australia (in Perth in the first Test), had he just carried on that form… you know it’s a confidence thing as well – when you’re out of form and you don’t have confidence you suddenly don’t quite get that power and the courage to hit the big shots. At this stage, I’m looking at him and feel that he is down on confidence," he added.
Kohli's form has been a cause of concern for India as he has only scored 137 runs in the last 7 ODIs with just one half-century. Manjrekar also touched base on Kohli's spin struggles. He said that when Kohli comes to bat the spinners come on knowing that the batting maestro is not going to be hitting them and will end up losing his wicket to them.
“When he comes into bat, the spinners come on. And once the spinners know that you’re not going to be hitting them for three sixes straight down the pitch or over midwicket… they bowl the kind of deliveries they’ll get wickets off because they don’t fear backlash from the batter. So he’s cornered in a way. What he needed in this tournament are flat pitches like the ones in Pakistan. But if he finds a way out of this and he finds another peak of Virat Kohli, that will tell you a lot more about the man and how he’s built," Manjrekar concluded.
All eyes will be on Kohli in the high-octane clash between India and Pakistan in Champions Trophy 2025 which is slated to be played on February 23 at the Dubai International stadium.
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