Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has thrown his weight behind embattled Virat Kohli ahead of highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-2025. Ravi Shastri expressed confidence in Virat Kohli's ability to regain form and deliver a strong performance in the five-Test series against Australia.
Ravi Shastri's strong message for Virat Kohli ahead of Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Kohli isn't in his elements and is going through a lean patch across all formats of the game in recent months. India's superstar batter has managed to score only one half-century and averages a mere 21.33 in five Test matches against Bangladesh and New Zealand since the beginning of the year. This poor also saw him slipping out of top 20 in the ICC's latest Men's Test batting rankings. Kohli scored just 93 runs in six innings with a batting average of 15.50 in the three-match Test series a against New Zealand. His highest score remained 70 across the series.
However, Shastri cautioned Australia, reminding them that Kohli is returning to a country where he thrives and has a history of stellar performances.
“Well, the King is back in his territory. That’s all I will tell them. When you’ve earned that title after your exploits in Australia, it will be on your (opponent’s) mind when you go out to bat," Shastri said on The ICC Review.
Shastri's comments were in reference to Kohli's outstanding performances in Australia. These include a valiant century in Adelaide during his debut Test tour in 2011/12, a remarkable 692 runs in four Tests during the 2014 tour, and an exceptional 123 in Perth in 2018/19, when he led the Indian team.
In 13 Tests in Australia since 2011, Kohli has amassed an impressive 1352 runs at an average of 54.08, including six centuries and four half-centuries.
Shastri further emphasized that if Kohli can maintain his composure, play at his natural pace, and avoid rushing his shots, the runs will inevitably follow.
“Your juices are flowing, you’re charged up. It’s again a case with Virat. You want to see calmness because at times you are over-eager to get out there and throw the first punch," said Shastri on the ICC Review show.
“But I think that calmness in the first half an hour where he gets out to bat or in the first three innings of the series will be extremely important. If he can be calm and play the game at his own pace rather than being in a hurry, I think he’ll be fine," said the former India captain and head coach.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2025 is set to take place from November 22, 2024, to January 7, 2025. The series will be played in Perth, Adelaide (day-night Test), Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney. This will be the first five-match Test series between the two cricketing giants since 1991-1992.
India’s squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy:
Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed
Australia's squad for Border-Gavaskar Trophy's Perth Test
Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc
