"I cannot believe that the same weakness is still there" - Mohammad Kaif recalls Virat Kohli's dismissal in his last Ranji Trophy match

Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif spoke about Team India's star batter Virat Kohli's weakness ahead of the latter's Ranji Trophy comeback. Kohli will play his first match in the red-ball domestic competition after more than 12 years, as he takes the field in Delhi's final group match of the season against the Railways at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, beginning Thursday, January 30.

Kohli's last appearance in the Ranji Trophy came in November 2012. He registered scores of 14 and 43 in the game and was dismissed by pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar in both the innings.

The right-handed batter was caught in the slips by Kaif in the first innings, while he was out caught behind in the subsequent essay. The cricketer-turned-commentator stated that Kohli's outside off-stump weakness was exploited by Kumar in the match.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Kaif remarked that he can't believe how Kohli continues to struggle with the same weakness even today. He said (from 3:16):

"I could not believe that our match against Delhi in 2012 was Kohli's last Ranji Trophy match. The weakness he had earlier is still there. The way Bhuvneshwar Kumar got him out twice, I cannot believe that the same weakness is still there. The way he was getting out in Australia, he got out in the same way in that Ranji match."

According to Kaif's assessment, Kohli's outside off-stump woes are due to his tight bottom-hand grip. He lauded the batter for reaching great heights in his career, despite the persistent off-stump problem.

"Despite having weakness against outside off-sump balls due to his tight bottom hand, the stature he achieved is commendable. He has 50 centuries in ODI cricket," Kaif added (from 3:38).

Virat Kohli's outside off-stump weakness had a big role to play in his failures during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 series. He started the tour by notching up his 81st century in the opening encounter.

However, barring the unbeaten 100-run knock in Perth, the 36-year-old failed to make a significant impact. He finished with 190 runs across nine innings at an average of 23.75.

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"A win-win for everyone" - Mohammad Kaif on Virat Kohli's Ranji Trophy return

Mohammad Kaif opined that Virat Kohli playing in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 could benefit India ahead of the 2025 Champions Trophy. He suggested that the batter has a chance of coming back to form by scoring big runs in the domestic cricket game.

Hoping to see Kohli regain his mojo, Kaif said in the aforementioned video (from 3:51):

"Playing a Ranji Trophy match is a win-win for everyone. Virat Kohli will get some practice and if he scores runs and gets back to form, it will benefit India a lot. So, we pray that he does well and spends some time at the crease. We hope he gets the kind of success he got in the 2023 ODI World Cup in the 2025 Champions Trophy as well."

It is worth mentioning that Virat Kohli sought the help of former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar ahead of his Ranji Trophy comeback. He was seen working on his backfoot game with Bangar in Mumbai.