Virat Kohli faces criticism after poor performance in the last Test

Virat Kohli received backlashes from Indian media after his performance in the rescheduled fifth Test against England. The media criticised him for being “too wayward” and even questioned whether he deserves to be on the team.

It doesn’t help that when ICC released men’s Test rankings on Wednesday, Kohli dropped to rank 13th. This is the first time in six years that Kohli went out of the top 10 in Test rankings.

Despite Kohli's absence, several Indian players remain on the list. Rishabh Pant who scored 146 runs in an over during the Edgbaston Test managed to climb the rank by 5 spots and now places 5th in the Test batting ranking. Rohit Sharma, the captain who was absent due to COVID-19, dropped to 9th rank.

Ravindra Jadeja ranks first in Test all-rounder ranking. Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin ranked second in both bowling and all-rounder rankings in the red-ball category.

Virat Kohli’s Test performance

Cricket fans know Kohli as a wholesome player in every category, from red-ball to white-ball. He even became the captain of the Indian national team. Kohli led the team in 68 Tests and won 40 of them, making him the most accomplished captain in India’s history, especially in the red-ball category.

Kohli made his debut in the Test category in 2011 when his team faced West Indies. So far, he has recorded 8,043 runs in Test matches with an average of 49.95. His current strike rate is at 55.7. He also got 27 centuries and 28 half-centuries throughout his Test career.

However, Kohli’s Test performance has seen a decline since 2019. Kohli only managed to achieve three half-centuries in 20 Test innings with the highest number of runs being 79, during a Test against South Africa at the beginning of 2022. His last century in a Test was in November 2019. In the last Test, he only got 31 runs in total.

People say that they have missed the combination of former coach Ravi Shastri and Kohli as the captain of the India team. The duo managed to bring aggression to their play. For now, Kohli must get in touch with his past performance to save his spot on the national Test team.

India vs England fifth Test

India failed to bring the win home despite leading on Day 1 and Day 2 of the Test. The India team made some impressive records during the first two days, but the hosts caught up to them quickly. The Test series ended in a 2-2 draw with England leading by 7 wickets on the last day.

England gained 378 runs during the fourth innings. This is the highest run-chase record that England has achieved in Tests. Jonny Bairstow saved England's position by scoring two centuries in separate innings. Joe Root also made an important contribution to his team by earning a century. This caused him to overtake Kohli's tally for centuries in Tests.

Right now, the team will focus on the T20I series against England. Sharma is likely to join his team for the upcoming matches after he fully recovers. In the T20I ranking, India and England rank first and second respectively.