Virat Kohli‘s slump in red-ball cricket has put him under the scanner after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. The batting maestro scored a century in the first Test to start the series on a high, but it just went downhill from there. He finished the five-match series with just 190 runs at an average of 23.75. The biggest concern about his batting was the way how he got out – caught behind the wicketkeeper or slip fielder in back-to-back innings.
His persistent vulnerability outside the off-stump – frequently edging deliveries to the slip cordon or wicketkeeper – proved to be his undoing, especially during the BGT. This technical flaw, which has plagued him for the past four years, has now become a major concern for Team India, leaving the management and fans alike wondering if he can rediscover his once-dominant form.
Former India cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Sanjay Manjrekar criticised the coaching staff for not solving Kohli’s persistent struggles outside off-stump and called it ‘chronic problems’. However, Aakash Chopra has come in support of head coach Gautam Gambhir and batting coach Abhishek Nayar.
“Sunny bhai (Sunil Gavaskar) and Sanjay bhai (Manjrekar) both said that Virat Kohli’s issues outside the off-stump are chronic problems. They said it should be solved and asked what Abhishek Nayar and Gautam Gambhir were doing as part of the coaching staff,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
The former cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that it was not an issue which grew during the BGT or the past 6 months and said that he has been struggling in the area for a long time now.
“When you have used the word chronic or you are seeing a problem that doesn’t exist only today in isolation, which was probably there earlier, went missing for some time, and has returned, can you blame the coaching department that has been there with this team for only the last six months? You cannot say that Virat Kohli got out because Gautam didn’t resolve his issues,” Chopra added.
‘You’ve to look towards the last coaching staff as well’: Chopra makes a point
Kohli has witnessed a drastic downfall in red-ball cricket since 2000. In this period, he has scored 2028 runs at an underwhelming average of 30.72.
Chopra suggested that if the questions are raised on the current coaching staff, then the past coaches, Rahul Dravid and Co, should also be put under the scanners for Kohli’s outside off-stump struggles.
“If it’s a chronic problem like someone stays committed on the front foot or someone’s reflexes are getting slower, it wouldn’t have happened in six months. So if you have to point your guns and fire, you have to look towards the last coaching staff as well, which no one is talking about,” he said.