It’s shocking news for me: Rajkumar Sharma on Virat Kohli’s decline in ICC Test rankings

Virat Kohli’s childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma is shocked after his ward decline in the ICC Test rankings. Kohli has fallen to number five in the ICC Rankings as he hasn’t been in the best of forms.

Since January 2020, Kohli has been averaging 23.94 and has failed to deliver the goods for the team.

Kohli had an average of 19 in 2020 and he is averaging 26.45 in 2021. In fact, Kohli’s last Test century came back in 2019 against Bangladesh in the pink-ball Test at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, which was also his last International century.

Kohli has always been consistent at the top level but he has veered off the track in the last couple of years. The Indian captain has been getting off to starts but hasn’t been able to convert them into substantial scores.

Kohli has been troubled by the fifth-sixth stump line and he has failed to hit the ground running, like he used to do in the past. Sharma, who has been guiding Kohli on the right track stated that he will have a word with his ward.

Rajkumar said while talking to India News, “It is shocking news for me that Virat Kohli has fallen to the fifth spot. I was expecting that Joe Root would have probably gone ahead of him. I will definitely talk to him.”

“I don’t feel there is any need to motivate him because he is extremely motivated. When I had spoken to him after the last match as well, he was quite excited and was happy that they had won and was not too worried about his runs. When he has such an attitude, a big hundred is about to come.”

Meanwhile, England captain Joe Root has been in sensational form as he has grabbed the no.2 place in the ICC Test rankings. Kane Williamson, Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne are ahead of Kohli in the rankings table.

Sharma wants Kohli to emulate Joe Root, who is batting at the top of his game.

“It is not a challenge but he [Root] has batted fantastically. I have always said that that he is an amazing player because he has a very good temperament and technique in any case. When he plays on his home ground and especially against India, I feel he is extremely motivated.”

“I would say it is a challenge for Virat to chase Joe Root. I have full hope because I have known Virat from his childhood, he loves challenges. So it is a good challenge and we will see a good contest in the upcoming matches.”