Ashish Ranjan
Former Indian captain Virat Kohli scored a century against Afghanistan last year, ending his century drought. The batting superstar also halted his century drought in Tests earlier this year, but he has yet to score a hundred abroad since December 2018. Aakash Chopra, a former cricketer-turned-expert, predicted that the Indian hero could end his barren streak in the upcoming Test series against the Windies.
Virat Kohli’s prodigious statistics at the highest level attest to his otherworldly batting exploits. However, the batting virtuoso has struggled in recent overseas Tests, with his most recent century coming against Australia in Perth in late 2018. Former India opener Aakash Chopra anticipates Kohli to end his barren spell in overseas Tests, despite his less-than-stellar record in the Caribbean.
“It is a very interesting fact that Virat Kohli has not achieved an overseas Test century in the past five years; the last time he did so was in 2018; since then, he has not scored an overseas Test century. So that delay may come to an end in this series. If you see otherwise, his numbers are strong against all teams; however, the West Indies and England are the only two teams and locations where his numbers are slightly lower based on his standards, but they are excellent based on the standards of other people. Therefore, Virat Kohli will be the focal point,” Chopra said in a video posted to his YouTube channel.
Rahane will be able to maintain his position if he scores runs; otherwise, the vice-captaincy will be of little use: Chopra
In addition, the former cricketer commented on Ajinkya Rahane’s status within the team. While Rahane has regained his vice-captaincy following a successful World Test Championship Final against Australia, Chopra believes that the Mumbai batsman will need to score consistently in order to maintain his starting position.
Also See | Ajinkya Rahane’s advice for Yashasvi Jaiswal ahead of West Indies Tests
“The narrative of Ajinkya Rahane is intriguing. He was out of the team for 18 months before performing well in the World Test Championship final and being promoted to vice-captain. But does this imply that his position is secure? No, he was previously the vice-captain when Kohli was the captain.
In the initial Test, he was replaced in South Africa. So I do not believe that his position is secure. I believe that he will need to score runs. He will be able to maintain his position if he achieves runs; otherwise, the vice-captaincy will be of little use,” he added.
