Former India cricketer Parthiv Patel has backed the batting great Virat Kohli after he got out on his second consecutive duck in the second ODI against Adelaide Oval. Kohli, who played a crucial role in India's ICC Champions Trophy 2025 win faced a lot of criticism after his dismissal on a duck in the second Test.
Parthiv Patel for Kohli's performance
Notably, this is the first time that Kohli got out on two consecutive ducks in his international career since making his debut. Parthiv, who featured alongside Virat Kohli for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), believes that the batter is struggling to score runs due to a lack of match practice.
"If a batter spends time in the middle, then you try to see if he is in form or not, and if there is any technical fault or not. However, if he hasn't spent that much time, you can't say what form he is going through," the former India wicketkeeper-batter said on Star Sports.
"One thing is clear. All of us have been talking about it that if match practice is not there, it's not easy to score runs in international cricket. We don't need to tell anyone that Virat is a great player, we know his numbers, but match practice is a massive factor when you come to play international cricket or any level of cricket," he added.
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Parthiv Patel on Kohli's motivation
Kohli is currently facing a lot of criticism, saying that Kohli lacks motivation after his flop show. However, Parthiv believes that whenever Kohli wears India jersey, he knows that he has to perform well.
"We all hope that he bats like that, and we have seen that kind of batting many times as well from Virat, but unfortunately, it's not happening currently. You don't need motivation and Virat Kohli is that kind of person," he replied.
"When he wears the Indian jersey, he knows he has to perform well. I don't think he needs to search for something from outside. As coaches or former players, we always say that you need one inning to click and then everything changes. Virat will be in search of that one inning," Parthiv observed.
India vs Australia ODI series
Australia defeated India in first two ODIs to take a 2-0 unassailable lead in the three-match ODI series against India. The third ODI will take place on October 25 at the Sydney Cricket Stadium in Sydney.