'Virat Kohli has two centuries in five years' - Aakash Chopra highlights star batter's dismal batting form in Tests

Aakash Chopra highlighted Virat Kohli's lean phase in Test cricket after India lost a home Test series to New Zealand for the first time last week. The Delhi batter has looked good in patches but failed to live up to his lofty standards.

In four outings so far against the Kiwis, the former India captain has scored 88 runs, with 70 coming in the second innings of the first Test in Bengaluru. Chopra pulled out Kohli's stats from the last five years in Test cricket and noted that he has only two centuries in the longest format of the game. Both of them came in 2023. However, the former India opener said that one of them came against Australia in Ahmedabad on a flat surface and can't be rated highly.

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"Is Virat Kohli's Test form a concern? He has scored only two centuries in the last five years. It's a concern if you see his numbers for the last five years and that was before the start of this Test match. He played only six innings in 2020 and had an average of 19. He played 19 innings in 2021 but had an average of 28, with no century," Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

"In 2022, he played 11 innings, again an average of 26, with no century. He did score two centuries in 2023 for sure, the average jumped to 55, but let's also remember that one century came in a drawn game on a flat pitch in Ahmedabad. You won't rate that too much. This year as well, he was going at an average of 32 in eight innings and now this Test match has also passed," Chopra further added.

How has 2024 been for Kohli in Test cricket?

Kohli's performances in Test cricket have been far from satisfactory. In 10 innings, he has scored 245 runs at a meagre average of 27.22. He has only a solitary half-century to his name. With the Border-Gavaskar Trophy being on the horizon, Kohli's form will be a major concern for the Indian team.

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Kohli has been a thorn in Australia's side over the years. He boasts an impressive average of 54.08 in Tests in Australia. India have another Test match left to play against New Zealand and if Kohli can get some runs under his belt in that game, it will give him a lot of confidence ahead of the tour Down Under.