Last Updated:
Irfan Pathan has Virat Kohli’s slump in Tests, emphasising the need to question his form if struggles persist for five years.
Virat Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket on May 12, 2025. (Picture Credit: AP)
Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan has said that one can go back to his social media posts during 2019-20 and check how he backed ace batter Virat Kohli during the initial phase of his slump, but if this downward trend continues for five years, then the situation turns against the star player.
In the latter stages of his career, Kohli faced his share of criticism for failing to dominate, with many questioning his repeated dismissals in similar ways.
Pathan was candid in his assessment, saying that it was fair to question Kohli’s form and adding that continuing to back a cricketer struggling for almost five years was bound to create issues.
“Virat Kohli had a slump in 2019-2020. You can see my social media from that time, I backed Kohli a lot. I feel that when a big player faces his first slump, he should be backed. He deserves it too, because he won many matches for the team,” Pathan said while speaking to Lallantop.
“But if this slump lasts for five years, then it isn’t right. In the end, the team is the most important,” Pathan added.
Kohli’s struggles over the last five to six years led to a sharp drop in his average, while contemporaries like ace England batter Joe Root and Steven Smith surged ahead in the race to score Test runs.
“When a player gets out in the same way, the opposing team will get you out with Plan A itself. They will not need to go to Plan B. It is the job of a champion player to take you from Plan A to Plan B,” Pathan said.
“The problem with Virat Kohli in Tests was that he was getting out in the same manner. This doesn’t mean that he is a bad player. He is a great player. But what is happening is also true,” Pathan added.
view comments
Read More
