‘Kohli was set to break Sachin’s records with ease but his bad form has peaked’

In August of 2019, when Virat Kohli smashed consecutive hundreds in an ODI series against West Indies to take his century count to 43, it seemed as if it was only a matter of time before he overtook Sachin Tendulkar’s records of the most ODI centuries.

But here we are, 32 months later, and Kohli is yet to score another ODI hundred. In fact, a player who at one point in his career, used to peel off hundreds for fun, hasn’t scored any since November of 2019.

Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has weighed in on the hot topic, believing that Kohli’s poor form has sort of reached the extreme. Latif mentioned that at one point it seemed as if Kohli will go past Sachin Tendulkar’s batting records and break them in quick time but the slump in form will now make it difficult for him to displace the former India captain at the top.

“Every player goes through this phase, some come out of it early, some take a long. Guys like Kohli have more pressure because they are attractions. Ravi Shastri and others have suggested rest but Virat Kohli knows best. When he was in form, he would score heaps of runs. The way he used to perform, Virat was set to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record with ease, he had scored so many hundreds. He took it to the extreme. But now when he is dealing with bad form, that too has come at extreme, that too has peaked,” Latif said on the YouTube show ‘Caught Behind’.

Having said that, Latif feels Virat and his fans can take confidence from Kohli’s half-century during Royal Challengers Bangalore’s match against Gujarat Titans last Saturday. After enduring two first-ball ducks and a scratchy innings of 9 against Rajasthan Royals, Kohli restored some semblance of good form with a knock of 58 off 53 balls where he struck six fours and a six.

“He has to come out of this rough patch himself. Everyone has the belief in him and he will come back, and the day he realised it himself, he will start doing it. Against Gujarat Titans, he has started doing it. I could see that touch. In the last few games, there were a few inside edged and things like that but the other day against GT, he hit a couple of crisp drives, played Shami well, he looks on good touch. If he can continue doing it, runs will come,” Latif pointed out.