'About time Virat Kohli’s form comes back' - Salman Butt backs Indian skipper to rise against England

Virat Kohli’s form has been a bit of a concern for the Indian team. Since the start of 2020, Kohli’s form in Test cricket has not been ideal for the Indian team. During this phase, he has made only three scores of 50 plus in 15 Test innings. Former Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt has opined that it is about time that Kohli gets back into form. 

The Indian captain didn’t have a great start to the series in England as well. He was dismissed for a first-ball duck in Trent Bridge, Nottingham. Interestingly enough, it was James Anderson, someone who had previously troubled Kohli on his first Test tour to England. As a matter of fact, after the shocker of a series, the Indian batter didn’t get dismissed by the legendary pacer for the next seven years. Until that day in Nottingham. 

Butt started out by praising the Indian skipper for the achievements he has so far. He pointed out that it is remarkable that he already has 70 international centuries. He noted that Kohli despite having a poor record in the last few years in Tests, is still in the top five of the Test rankings as a batter (currently holds the fourth position). 

I feel Virat Kohli will make a strong comeback: Salman Butt

“Virat Kohli is human and every player suffers from loss of form at some point or the other in his career. Class, though, is permanent and Kohli is undoubtedly a class player. He has scored runs all over the world and has 70 international hundreds. Though he has not been on top of his game in the last two years, he is still among the Top 5 in the rankings.

“That shows how brilliantly he has performed and what his capability is. It is about time Kohli’s form comes back in this series. It might be difficult but I feel he will make a strong comeback and play the kind of innings one relates to with Kohli,” Salman Butt said on his Youtube channel. 

Since the start of 2020, Kohli has played nine Tests and 15 innings where he has managed to score only 345 runs with the bat at an average of 23.00. During this phase, he has not scored a single century in Tests or ODIs. His last ton came against Bangladesh in November 2019.