“I cannot believe a player of his class…,” former Australian cricketer questions Virat Kohli’s form in Test cricket

Waugh clarified comments he made during the first Test was not sledging Kohli's form but his catching, which improved in the second and third Tests.

“I cannot believe a player of his class…,” former Australian cricketer questions Virat Kohli’s form in Test cricket

Virat Kohli

Former Australian player Mark Waugh has questioned Virat Kohli‘s form in Test cricket as the former India skipper has failed to score a century in his last 41 innings and has gone without a century for 1195 days. In the third Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Kohli fell victim to young spinner Todd Murphy for the third time, while in the second innings, Matthew Kuhnemann trapped him.

“I cannot believe a player of his class has gone that long without a hundred,” former Test opener Mark Waugh said on Fox Cricket. “He’s been in good touch recently, he’s batted well in one-day cricket. I know it’s not Test match cricket, but the signs have been there in his last three innings in Test cricket that he’s actually playing pretty well.”

Waugh added that Kohli is middling and watching the ball well but only an odd error is proving costly for him. “He’s a world-class player and I feel like a hundred is just around the corner for him.”

Kohli’s last Test century came against Bangladesh back in November 2019 at Eden Gardens, where he scored 136 runs. It was his 27th century in the longest format. Since then, he averages 25.70 in Test cricket. Before 2019, he was close to an average of 55, but it dropped to 48.12. His highest score was 79 since that lone century in over three years.

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Mark Waugh clarifies comments about Virat Kohli he made during Nagpur Test

Mark Waugh clarifies comments about Virat Kohli he made during Nagpur Test
Virat Kohli dropped Steve Smith’s catch during Nagpur Test

During the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Nagpur, Virat Kohli dropped two catches- of Steve Smith‘s and Peter Handscomb’s. Smith and Handscomb scored 37 and 31 runs respectively.

On air, Mark Waugh, who is regarded as one of the best slip-catchers, pointed out: “Your legs have to be lot closer to be able to move quickly.” He added that Kohli was very high-up in his position and that he should have stayed down a bit. Waugh clarified his comments later on Fox Cricket that he wasn’t sledging Kohli’s form but his catching, which he improved in the other Tests.

Kohli scored 12 runs in the first Test, while in the second one, he would have completed his half-century but had to leave the field after 44 runs due to a controversial dismissal from the third umpire. In the second innings, he scored 20 runs. In the third Test on a difficult Indore pitch, Kohli emerged highest run scorer for India (22) in the first innings but fell cheaply in the second for 13 runs.

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