Virat Kohli is going through a tough phase in his career right now. The talismanic India batter, who has been a prolific run-scorer throughout his career, has been struggling for runs recently in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
During this tough phase, Kohli has received the backing from the legendary South Africa batter Herschelle Gibbs. Gibbs reminded Kohli of his magnificent hundred in the second innings of the Perth Test against Australia and backed him to score big in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne.
It is to be noted that Herschelle Gibbs is also the childhood hero of Kohli. During the introduction part of the 2008 Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia, Kohli called Gibbs as his favorite batter. He also led India to the title win in this tournament which helped him gain global recognition.
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Herschelle Gibbs reminds Virat Kohli about his hundred in Perth
During an interview with Inside Sport, Herschelle Gibbs was asked about Virat Kohli’s recent batting form. Gibbs claimed that Kohli is a very proud cricketer and one must not forget about his Test century some days ago in Perth.
“He (Virat Kohli) got a Test hundred a couple of weeks ago. You don’t suddenly become a bad player in a couple of weeks. It was just three weeks ago when he got a hundred,” Gibbs said.
“I think he’s a very proud cricketer, very proud of his statistics. He demands very high standards of himself. It’s wrong to write him off. He’s too good a player,” he added.
Kohli scored 100 off 143 balls in the second innings of the Perth Test. However, India was already in the ascendancy when he came out to bat and the pitch was good enough to assist him.
Herschelle Gibbs backs Virat Kohli to score big at MCG
Further speaking on the star India cricketer, Herschelle Gibbs claimed that Virat Kohli knows what needs to be done in this situation. He backed Kohli to score big runs in the Boxing Day Test since it will be a big occasion which is something that Kohli loves to be in.
“Kohli would’ve probably sat down with the batting coach of India and he would know what he’s doing wrong. You don’t play for years and years and score 9,000 Test runs without knowing what you’re doing wrong,” Gibbs explained.
“He loves the big occasion and the Boxing Day Test will be a huge occasion. I back him to get runs,” he concluded.
Virat Kohli’s recent numbers in Tests
Kohli has scored 126 runs in three Tests at an average of 31.50 so far. Out of five innings, 100 runs have come in just one inning. The rest of his innings have been a struggle for him.
He has constantly been troubled by some quality Australian fast bowling who have tested him at the fourth and fifth stump line continuously. At this stage of his career, Kohli is under immense pressure to perform.
In the five home Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand prior to this series, The 36-year-old scored just 192 runs in 10 innings at an average of 21.33 with the best score of 70. India will hope for their best batter to come back into form soon and the Boxing Day Test might be the perfect occasion.