New Delhi: Virat Kohli’s dreadful run in home Tests is steadily becoming a huge concern for the Indian team. India’s dominant run of 18 consecutive home Test series victories was ended by New Zealand on Saturday as the Kiwis hammered the hosts by 113 runs in the second Test in Pune to seal the three-match series with an unassailable 2-0 lead. New Zealand won their maiden Test series on Indian soil as India lost their first home Test series since 2012.
The spin ploy backfired for India as the Kiwi spinners made a mockery of the Indian batting line-up on a rank turner in Pune to spin the visitors to a historic Test series victory, their first in India in nearly 70 years. Mitchell Santner made the Indian batters dance to his tunes as the likes of Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill all failed to deliver under pressure.
While Rohit’s torrid run at the top is coming back to bite the team, Kohli’s numbers in Tests at home have started to paint a grim picture for the Indian team. Once a run machine across conditions, Kohli has witnessed a remarkable dip in his form in the whites when playing in India. His struggles against spin have contributed to his decline but there is more to what meets the eye.
Virat Kohli’s miseries at home
Kohli, arguably one of India’s best and currently one of the senior-most batters in the Indian team, has managed only 773 runs in 15 Test matches at home since the start of 2021. Kohli has an average of 32.20 in the 15 matches with a solitary century to his name. His last Test century at home came against Australia in the drawn Test at Ahmedabad last year where he notched up a 186-run knock.
Kohli’s overall numbers in Tests too aren’t impressive in the same phase. The star batter has played 33 Test matches at home and overseas combined since the start of 2020 but has managed only 1833 runs at an average of 32.73 with only two hundreds to his name. The India no.4 recorded scores of 1 and 17 in the Pune Test as the hosts saw their dominant run at home come to an end.
The lack of runs from Kohli’s bat in home Tests coincides with India’s worst home phase in the longest format under captain Rohit Sharma. The senior batter has looked far from assuring at number four, let alone matching the incredible consistency of his old self. His perennial struggles in home Tests raise a valid question – do India need a new no.4?
India’s options at no.4?
Despite his downfall, Kohli remains India’s best bet at number four in home Tests at present thus the hosts will hope he can soon regain his touch and spark a turnaround to get back among the runs. However, if his woeful run continues, India can fall back on Cheteshwar Pujara and utilise his experience at number 4 while using Kohli at no.3 with Shubman Gill slotting into the middle order.
India can also bring back Shreyas Iyer, who had done well at number four for India in home Test matches and played some impactful knocks. Iyer has a decent record against spin and his shortcomings against short deliveries is not a big concern in home conditions for India. India can also look at brining in new blood in the team if they plan for the future.
The likes of Sai Sudharsan, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devdutt Padikkal are some exceptional talents who can bat anywhere in the top order and can be groomed as Kohli’s replacement in the future. India will have to make some difficult calls at the end of the ongoing WTC cycle if they fail to make it to the final despite being in a strong position after conceding back-to-back losses against New Zealand.
