IND vs AUS: Virat Kohli has the lowest batting average among players with 9000+ Test runs

IND vs AUS: The legendary Indian batter has seen a serious dig in form over the last few years, especially when he plays the longest format of the game. Kohli currently averages 47.49 in test cricket; for the first time, his batting average has fallen below 50.

Virat Kohli earlier held the record to be the only batter in the world to have averaged above 50 in all three formats of international cricket, an unbreakable record that he set that only looked possible from his standards at some point.

Virat showed glimpse of a comeback at Perth

Virat Kohli, who faced a serious dig in form in test cricket, failed to make any mark even in the home series against the Black Caps, as he ended the series with less than 100 runs and also a fifty, while averaging less than 10.

After facing some serious criticism, Virat Kohli bounced back during the second innings of the Perth Test, the opening match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He was another anchor of India’s comeback alongside centurion Yashasvi Jaiswal.

While Virat scored his 30th test hundred, almost after a gap of nearly 3 years, fans took a sigh of relief, hoping for his comeback to form. But ever since then, Kohli has failed to reach a double-digit score in the next 3 innings that followed.

With his current average, he is third lowest on the list of players with the lowest average among players with 9000 test runs.

Player	Mat	Runs	HS	Average	100	50
Kumar Sangakkara	134	12400	319	57.4	38	52
Steve Smith	112	9805	239	56.35	33	41
Jacques Kallis	166	13289	224	55.37	45	58
Kane Williamson	105	9276	251	54.88	33	37
Sachin Tendulkar	200	15921	248*	53.78	51	68
Brian Lara	131	11953	400*	52.88	34	48
Rahul Dravid	164	13288	270	52.31	36	63
Younis Khan	118	10099	313	52.05	34	33
Ricky Ponting	168	13378	257	51.85	41	62
Shivnarine Chanderpaul	164	11867	203*	51.37	30	66
Sunil Gavaskar	125	10122	236*	51.12	34	45
Steve Waugh	168	10927	200	51.06	32	50
Joe Root	152	12918	262	50.85	36	64
Allan Border	156	11174	205	50.56	27	63
Mahela Jayawardene	149	11814	374	49.84	34	50
Graeme Smith	117	9265	277	48.25	27	38
Virat Kohli	121	9166	254*	47.49	30	31
Hashim Amla	124	9282	311*	46.64	28	41
Alastair Cook	161	12472	294	45.35	33	57

(Source: TOI)

Virat’s weakness exposed to bowlers

Every bowler, from the experienced Starc who has bowled to Kohli before to the inexperienced Scott Boland, it is an open secret to every bowler that Virat Kohli can be trapped with a ball angling wide outside off.

Virat has been constantly seen poking at wide deliveries outside the off-stump; even some balls that have pitched on the fourth stump line have dismissed the likes of the veteran batter.

Should Virat Kohli be rested for the MCG Test?

India needs to win at least one of the two games to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and also fancy their chances among the two teams into the WTC final. With the current batting order being a complete flop, many have claimed the dropping of veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who are totally out of form.

If Virat Kohli is dropped from the Indian team, which will be a very daring move, only players like Sarfaraz Khan can be brought in place of the veteran batter, though Devdutt Padikkal who made his test debut in the Perth Test, might also be considered an option.

ALSO READ: “Such decisions should be made after the series” – Sunil Gavaskar slams Ravichandran Ashwin on his international retirement