Virat Kohli has endured a lean five-year spell in Test cricket (Getty)
There is a famous portrait of Henry VIII from it Hans Holbein the Youngerpainted as part of the Whitehall Mural in the mid-1530s. By the time it was erected, the Tudor Royal was in his forties and already dealing with some of the health problems that his final years would come to solve, while also overcame serious injuries sustained in a jousting accident at Greenwich Palace.
Yet Holbein paints the picture of a potentate in his best years. Henry stands tall and wide, legs spread in a powerful stance, showing no signs of physical decline. It is a piece of propaganda that survived even after the mural’s destruction in 1698, a large number of copies and cartoons shaping the perception of the ruler through the centuries.
Perhaps India’s own aging monarch needs such a flattering portrait. Virat Kohli starts this week’s series against Australia as a faded force; a king who once ruled with bravado and genius, now apparently in terminal decline. Statistically, the numbers are grim: since the start of 2020, Kohli has averaged 31.68 in Test cricket. Although there are glimpses of his genius still observed in white ball cricketThis is not a dip, blip or loss of form, but the kind of persistent slide that is rarely reversed.
Virat Kohli has been struggling for runs since the beginning of 2020 (PA)
Kohli’s past body of work has helped him dodge more serious questions about his place in the side, but with one of cricket’s biggest series about to begin, a perhaps overdue story is beginning to emerge. “He has only scored two Test hundreds in the last five years,” former Australian captain Ricky Ponting said on the channel ICC assessment podcast as the two sides prepare for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. “That is a concern. There is probably no one else who is likely to play international cricket as a top-order batsman who has scored just two Test match hundreds in five years.
If there is a certain sadness at a figure who once exerted total control at the crease and no longer made full use of his batting ability, factors beyond his control have also played a role. During its golden age, India largely played on friendly and flat decks at home, with the hosts relying on the voracity for runs in their batting line-up and two world-class spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to win test matches. Lately the strategy has changed. In general, result pitches that offered turning or seaming movements from the start of Test matches are preferred, with deteriorating surfaces proving problematic for both home and visiting batters.
If the extension of the period without a Indian series defeat on home soil to 12 years suggested the new formula worked, their income came last month. With India’s batters out of bounds, a New Zealand side missed their own batsman in Kane Williamson and nevertheless dominated a vastly inferior spin attack. The first Blackcaps Test victory in India since 1988 was followed by two more; India was whitewashedwith Kohli contributing four single-figure scores in six innings.
Virat Kohli came up short against New Zealand (AP)
It is a defeat that has increased the pressure on an Indian side that should have traveled to Australia with real confidence. They have, of course, won on their last two trips to the country, the historic performance of a Kohli-led team in 2018-19, followed by an almost second-string side securing a very remarkable series victory in Brisbane in January 2021.
But the nature of their defeats against New Zealand has led to uncomfortable, almost unconscionable questions starting to be asked. Not only Kohli is in the spotlight, but also Ashwin and Jadeja, plus captain Rohit Sharmawho will miss the opening Test in Perth following the recent arrival of his second child.
“I’m not worried at all about Virat and Rohit,” India head coach Gautam Gambhir replied dismissively in October when pressed about the pair’s future. “I think they are very tough men.
“They have achieved a lot for Indian cricket and will continue to do so in the future. I think the most important thing for me is that they still work very hard, that they are still passionate, that they still want to achieve much more and that is something that is very important. The hunger in that dressing room is extremely important for me and also for the entire group. I feel like there’s a lot of hunger, especially after what happened in the last series.”
India captain Rohit Sharma also faces questions over his future (AFP via Getty)
Sharma’s absence and Shubman Gill’s untimely thumb injury will necessitate a top-level rematch for India at the fast and sturdy Optus Stadium, a venue where the hosts are yet to lose. The versatile KL Rahul is likely to return to open alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, while the lanky southpaw Devdutt Padikkal is seemingly considered better equipped to handle the pace and bounce than the unlimited Abhimanyu Easwaran. Under such circumstances, recapturing past glories would be very welcome for Kohli, who averages 54 in Australia.
The ruckus in India has somewhat eased the scrutiny on the lingering questions and alternative answers in the Australian batting line-up. Steve Smith’s ambitious vault the order after David Warner’s retirement appears to have been left foreverwith Cameron Green’s back surgery allowing Smith to slide back to his favored number four. The unselfish, vigilant Nathan McSweeney is relatively untested as an opener but is much loved as a leader and showed just enough in a recent match in Australia A against the tourists to earn the selectors’ confidence as Usman Khawaja’s partner.
If Jasprit Bumrah – who will replace Sharma as India’s skipper – and the rest of the visiting attack seriously examine McSweeney’s technique and ticker, a pre-Test net session on Perth’s tough surface against Pat Cummins And Mitchell Starc served as perfect preparation for the 25-year-old.
Nathan McSweeney opens the batting for Australia against India (Getty)
“It was a good challenge. I came through it unscathed,” McSweeney said earlier this week. “I haven’t put a lot of pressure on them but they are bowling really well and have had great preparation to go up against those guys who are quality bowlers.
“I think everyone will have their opinion (on my selection). I try not to read too much into it. I think I know what works for me and I feel very capable (to go) and (to do) the course. I feel like I’m hitting the best I’ve ever done. Hopefully I can go there on Friday and execute that.
Australia vs India starts on November 22 on TNT Sports and Discovery+ at 2:15am
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