Virat Kohli has been struggling with his form, especially in Test cricket, for quite some time. Despite his century in the second innings of the first Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25, he suffered with the bat in the other innings of the series. Kohli’s technique has been called into question, and after the shambolic performance of the team in the series, the Indian cricketers have been called in to play domestic cricket.
Kohli will be part of domestic cricket after over a decade in Delhi’s last league game against Railways at the Kotla on January 30. Ahead of the match, images went viral, which showed that Kohli has been practicing hard with the former batting coach of the Indian team, Sanjay Bangar. Bangar was the batting coach of the Indian team when Virat Kohli was at his peak in Test cricket from 2014-2019.
Virat Kohli will be part of the next round of the Ranji Trophy games
Meanwhile, Kohli’s teammates in the BGT 2024/25, with the likes of Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, and Ravindra Jadeja, were all part of the recently concluded round of the Ranji Trophy. As per reports, Kohli had neck stiffness and hence missed this round of the Ranji Trophy.
Kohli made the bulk of his runs and centuries when Bangar was the batting coach of the team. He shared a friendly bond with Bangar, and hence going back to him might solve the mental confusion and give him clarity.
The former Indian captain will also be part of the ICC Champions Trophy in 2025. India will play all their matches in Dubai, and Kohli will be expected to play a big part if India hopes to win the Trophy. He was sensational in the ODI World Cup in 2023 and played a crucial part in the team qualifying for the final.
“When Kohli’s feedback was sought post 2019 World Cup, he had given a glowing certificate to Bangar, stating that as a batter, he had benefitted a lot from his technical inputs during all those years,” a senior BCCI official, who was then associated with the appointment of support staff, told PTI.
What was the plan in the training session?
Virat Kohli took proactive steps to regain his form. He reached out to Sanjay Bangar, who facilitated a unique training session outside Mumbai’s hustle. At a secluded facility personally curated by Bangar, once an all-rounder and Railways skipper, Kohli honed his skills.
Here, Bangar delivered throwdowns from 16 yards, emphasizing backfoot play against rising deliveries. A novel approach involved using a wheeled cement slab at mid-pitch to simulate steeply bouncing balls, aiming to enhance Kohli’s response to back-of-length deliveries. This session was particularly designed to counter Kohli’s natural front-foot bias, focusing on strengthening his less-used backfoot shots. The goal was clear: to expand Kohli’s scoring options, especially if he faced fewer full deliveries in upcoming matches.
