"He's gone through it all before" - Former RCB teammate backs Virat Kohli amid heavy criticism over BGT 2024-25 performance

Virat Kohli had a series to forget in Australia, scoring just 190 runs from five Tests during the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25. The Indian batter is drawing heavy criticism for his poor performance with the bat Down Under. However, his former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) teammate Faf du Plessis has come out in his support.

“I know someone like him is super super motivated, he’s gone through it all before, so he knows exactly what to do,” Faf told PTI, believing that Virat Kohli knows how to come back.

Given his poor show, many people have called for Virat Kohli to retire from Test cricket. However, Faf du Plessis stated that it is a personal choice and that no one can tell a player when to retire.

“That is very, very personal. No one can speak to you about when that time is (up) as a player, you’ll know,” he said.

The former South Africa skipper also spoke about the time when he decided to quit Test cricket.

“It is different for every player. Every player needs to answer that question. I remember when that time was for me,” he stated.

Du Plessis added that he did not have the hunger or drive anymore and was aware that it was the right time for him to move away from the longest format.

“I just knew that certainly from the Test cricket perspective for me. I didn’t have that same hunger and drive anymore and I felt that that stage certainly for me was a good time to let new guys come in and also step into the T20 world. I wanted to do that at the stage where I still felt like I was on top of my game," he concluded.

---

Virat Kohli's poor show in BGT 2024-25 as India suffer 1-3 loss

India lost the BGT 2024-25 series 1-3. They managed to win the first Test in Perth but could not win any Test thereafter. One among the key reasons for their loss was Virat Kohli's poor form with the bat.

The Indian batter scored an unbeaten century in the first Test in Perth. However, he added only 90 runs in the next four Tests after that, struggling to get going. He scored 190 runs overall from nine innings and five Tests.

Kohli had a poor average of 23.75 and got out multiple times to deliveries outside the off-stump. His poor form has once again raised questions about his place in the Test team.