'If this slump lasts for five years, then it is not right...': Irfan Pathan's blunt take on Virat Kohli's lean patch in cricket

Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan reckons that batting great Virat Kohli deserved support when he went on to a lean patch in cricket, considering his past contributions, but says continued backing in a later career dip came at the cost of the team. Kohli was in the form of his life between 2016 and 2019, scoring 4,208 runs in 43 Test matches at an average of 66.79, including 16 centuries and 10 fifties. During this time, he became one of the best batters in the world while leading India as captain.

However, his performance declined in the years that followed. Between 2020 and 2022, Kohli went three years without a Test century. Pathan said that Kohli merited support when the slump began, but argued that patience should not have stretched over several years.

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"Virat Kohli had a slump in 2019-2020. You can see my social media of that time — I backed Kohli a lot," Pathan told Lallantop. "I feel that when a big player faces his first slump, he should be backed. He deserves it too, because he won many matches for the team. But if this slump lasts for five years, then it is not right. In the end, the team is the most important."

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Irfan also highlighted Kohli's repeated dismissals outside the off-stump as a technical flaw that should have been addressed more thoroughly.

"When a player gets out in the same way, the opposing team will get you out with Plan A itself. They will not need to go to Plan B. It is the job of a champion player to take you from Plan A to Plan B," he explained.

"The problem with Virat Kohli in Test cricket was that he was getting out in the same manner continuously. This does not mean that he is a bad player. He is a great player. But what is happening is also true. We have to tell what is happening, with details."

After a poor outing in Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, the stylish batter announced his Test retirement in May before the five-Test match series of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025. Kohli managed to score 190 runs in his last five-Test match series. Kohli's international appearances are now limited to one-day cricket, and it remains uncertain whether he will continue in the format for long or opt to end his career entirely in the near future.