‘Well, the King is back in his territory’: Shastri’s message for Kohli’s doubters

Former India coach Ravi Shastri believes star batter Virat Kohli can turn around his recent poor run and prosper during the side’s upcoming Test tour of Australia.

Kohli has endured an indifferent run across all formats over the last few months, with the 36-year-old managing just one half-century and averaging only 21.33 across five Test matches against Bangladesh and New Zealand since the start of the year.

The veteran looked below his best during India’s recent 3-0 series whitewash at the hands of New Zealand, but Shastri is predicting a prompt return to form during the five-match Test series in Australia that will be crucial in deciding who reaches next year’s ICC World Test Championship Final at Lord’s.

“Well, the King is back in his territory. That’s all I will tell them,” Shastri told host Sanjana Ganesan on the most recent episode of The ICC Review when asked what his message was for Kohli doubters.

“When you’ve earned that title after your exploits in Australia, it will be on your (opponent’s) mind when you go out to bat.”

Shastri was referring to Kohli’s exceptional performances in Australia thus far – including a fighting Test ton in Adelaide in his first-ever Test tour in 2011/12, a staggering 692 runs at 86.50 from his four Tests during his second visit in 2014 and captaining India to their first-ever series win in the country in 2018/19 during which he scored an exceptional 123 in Perth.

In the recently concluded Test series against New Zealand, not only were Kohli’s numbers down – 15.50 runs per innings in the three fixtures – but the manner of some of his dismissals came under scrutiny.

This included getting bowled off a full toss against Mitchell Santner in the second Test in Pune and being run out late on the first day while taking a risky single early in his innings in the final Test in Mumbai.

Shastri remained mindful of the same and issued a word of warning for Kohli to be on the watch in the initial stages of his first few innings Down Under.

“Your juices are flowing, you’re charged up. It’s again a case with Virat. You want to see calmness because at times you are overeager to get out there and throw the first punch,” Shastri said.

“But I think that calmness in the first half an hour where he gets out to bat or in the first three innings of the series will be extremely important. If he can be calm and play the game at his own pace rather than being in a hurry, I think he’ll be fine.”