Virat KohliHis poor form continued in Melbourne as he failed to breach the fifty-point mark in both innings. The 36-year-old has not been in good form with the bat throughout the Border-Gavaskar Trophy so far.

Kohli was heavily criticized for his poor returns and there were talks of his retirement. Recently, before India All-rounder Irrfan Pathan also joined the list and criticized Kohli for letting down Indian cricket.

Pathan spoke about Kohli’s poor form since the start of India’s home season in September this year and claimed that more was expected from him as a potential batsman.

Also read: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and the superstar withdraw from England 2025 series after BGT disaster

Irfan Pathan slams Virat Kohli for poor form

In a discussion on Star Sports, Irfan Pathan reminded everyone of Virat Kohli’s numbers in Test cricket over the past five years. According to him, Indian cricket should have been much better than Kohli’s figures in the last five years of Tests.

“It’s been five years. You’re such a good player and you’ve averaged close to 28 in the last five years. Does Indian cricket deserve that? Does Indian cricket deserve their best player averaging 28? Absolutely not, they Deserves better than this,” Pathan noted.

Pathan even claimed that even the young players are currently playing better than Kohli. Pathan further slammed the talismanic batsman, adding that Kohli should be ashamed of his recent poor figures.

“He is averaging 21 points per game since October 2024. Team India does not deserve this. Even young players will give you 21 points. You expect more from Virat. If your career Averaging close to 50 points per game, these numbers are something to be ashamed of,” he added.

Irfan Pathan on Virat Kohli’s dismissal

Irfan Pathan further stated that Virat Kohli has a similar pattern of dismissals while Virat Kohli is on the sidelines. He questioned the India star batsman’s ability to bowl in favorable conditions, claiming that he got out in a similar manner every time.

“If you look at his outings, all the balls are outside the stumps. If you don’t touch them, the ball will go to the wicketkeeper and the bowler will definitely do something else. Good players will increase the time between two same mistakes gap,” Pathan said.

Virat Kohli kept getting tested by the bowlers at the fourth and fifth stumps. Bowlers around the world are aware of his vulnerability and he finds it difficult to counter such dismissals.

Virat Kohli recent statistics

In the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy competition, Virat Kohli has scored 167 runs in four Tests at an average of 27.83. Apart from 100 in Perth and 36 in Melbourne, he looked completely out of form.

In previous home testing seriesKohli scored 192 runs in 10 innings against Bangladesh and New Zealand. He found both pace bowling and spin bowling tough, which raised concerns for the remainder of his career.