Indian star batter Virat Kohli, who is known for dominating opponents failed to score runs in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 (BGT). However, the former captain of the Indian test team scored his first century since July 2023, he scored a ton in the second innings of the first test match at Perth. But couldn’t continue his form as he only managed 18 runs in the second pink-ball test at Adelaide.
In the rain-affected 3rd test match Australia put in a decent score of 445 runs and everyone was expecting something special from the Indian star but Kohli only managed to nick the outside off delivery by Josh Hazelwood and was caught behind on just 3 runs. Kohli faced a lot of criticism and many former cricketers suggested he should bat with more discipline and focus and leave that outside off deliveries, The fourth test match of the series was played at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), where the 36-year-old had a history of playing some unbelievable innings under pressure. But once again he was exposed by the Australian bowlers as he only managed to score 41 runs in the boxing day test. In the fifth and most important match in terms of qualifying for the WTC final, he only managed a score of 23 runs in both innings combined.
India lost the BGT after a decade and questions were raised about the performance of Virat Kohli. The former all-rounder Irfan Pathan expressed his frustration after the match and stated that we should “end Superstar culture”. Pathan also highlighted the importance of domestic cricket and mentioned that Kohli played his last Ranji match in 2012.
“We need to end superstar culture, we need team culture. You need to improve yourself and improve the Indian team. There were matches before this series, too, and they had an opportunity to play domestic cricket, but they didn’t. We need to change that culture” Pathan told StarSports.
“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? When did it happen? Even the great Sachin Tendulkar played Ranji Trophy even when it wasn’t required of him, only because he wanted to spend that much time—four or five days—on the pitch,” Irfan Pathan said on Star Sports.
Time to shift the spotlight! 🌟 #IrfanPathan calls for an end to the superstar culture, emphasizing the importance of building a strong team-first mentality in Indian cricket💬🇮🇳#AUSvINDOnStar #ToughestRivalry #WTC #WorldTestChampionship pic.twitter.com/ZeDcv30R5A
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) January 5, 2025
Jasir Basharat is a cricket enthusiast capturing the heart of the game through insightful analysis and storytelling sharing his passion for the sport through engaging narratives. He is a business graduate from University of Kashmir.
