“Because the culture has changed,” Irfan Pathan slams Virat Kohli for not playing domestic cricket

Virat Kohli failed badly in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia and has been out of form in Test cricket for long.

“Because the culture has changed,” Irfan Pathan slams Virat Kohli for not playing domestic cricket

Virat Kohli (Via X)

Virat Kohli had a disastrous Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia apart from the second innings of the first Test match at the Optus Stadium in Perth, where he scored a century. He has been struggling in the longest format of the game for an extended period; that was also evident in the five-Test match series in Australia.

Kohli looked out of touch and continued to get out by nicking the outside of the off-stump deliveries. His average in Test cricket has gone down below 47, and it feels like it is time for him to be dropped from the Test team. He failed to cross the 50-run mark in 8 of his 9 innings.

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Former Indian cricketer and current commentator, Irfan Pathan, questioned the likes of Kohli and Rohit Sharma for not grinding it out in domestic cricket. He cited examples of former legends like Sachin Tendulkar, who used to play regularly in domestic cricket, and pointed out the shift in culture in current Indian cricket. Kohli and Rohit have not played in domestic cricket for over a decade.

Many players had the opportunity to play domestic cricket, but they did not play. Why is that happening? Because the culture has changed. We have to change the culture. We have to improve things for Indian cricket as a team. Tell me, when was the last time Virat Kohli played domestic cricket?

Irfan Path said to Star Sports
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Irfan Pathan raised questions on Virat Kohli’s place in the Test team

Kohli has scored just three centuries in Test cricket since 2019. He has struggled overseas and also struggled to play on spin-friendly tracks at home. His Test average was 54.29 in 2019, and now it has dropped to 46.85 in 2025, and that in itself speaks about the degradation of the former Indian captain in this format.

Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli (VIa X)

Pathan questioned Kohli’s inability to work on his mistake and get out in the same fashion repeatedly. He added that Kohli is not even taking help from the great Sunil Gavaskar, who himself is on the field. However, Pathan did highlight the contributions of Kohli to Indian cricket.

When we talk about Virat Kohli, he has done a lot for India. He has delivered many performances. But you are getting out from the same mistake again and again. You are not creating a gap between two mistakes. You are not trying to fix the technical mistake. Sunny Sir [Sunil Gavaskar] is in the field. How long does it take to talk to Sunny Sir or someone?

Irfan Pathan said.

India lost the fifth Test match in Sydney and lost the series 3-1. Australia regained the BGT for the first time since 2014/15 and qualified for the World Test Championship final to face off against South Africa.