"It looks slightly more than Rohit" - Aakash Chopra on a potential turnaround in Virat Kohli's form despite lean run in BGT 2024-25

Former India player Aakash Chopra has acknowledged that Virat Kohli has endured a lean run in Tests over the last few years and has struggled against deliveries outside the off-stump. However, he feels the former India captain has a better chance of regaining his form than Rohit Sharma.

Kohli was dismissed for a 29-ball five in India's second innings of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 fourth Test in Melbourne on Monday, December 30. The visitors lost the game by 184 runs to trail 1-2 in the ongoing five-match series.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener expressed more optimism about Kohli returning to run-scoring ways than Rohit.

"You feel there is a slight fitness issue with Rohit. He is getting late and you cannot struggle against fast bowling as an opener. As for Virat, he is struggling against deliveries outside off-stump and doing so consistently. The numbers have been very bad this year and bad in SENA countries for the last four or five years," he said (7:00).

"He has scored only three centuries in the last four or five years, one of which came just now in Perth. So he hasn't scored runs if you see from that angle. However, with Virat, you still feel there could be a plausible turnaround. It looks slightly more than Rohit. That's my thinking," Chopra added.

Virat Kohli has scored 167 runs at an underwhelming average of 27.83 in seven innings in BGT 2024-25. Rohit Sharma has fared even worse, aggregating 31 runs at a paltry average of 6.20 in five hits.

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"The time is also running out for Virat Kohli" - Aakash Chopra

Virat Kohli has repeatedly fallen prey to deliveries outside the off-stump. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that Virat Kohli's fitness and discipline should help his cause. However, he added that the modern batting great needs to deliver soon.

"He is extremely fit. When a guy is so fit and lives his life with so much discipline, you expect him to come back based on his discipline. However, the time is also running out for Virat Kohli, I will be very honest. At some stage, he will also have to think about what he needs to do," he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that India might want to start afresh for the next World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.

"If you reach the WTC final, you will say you will think about it after playing the final. However, if you don't reach the final, you will start thinking that the new cycle for the next two years is going to get started. So maybe there will be a new captain and a new team. Maybe you need to start afresh. If you start seeing from that angle, it will be up in the air," Chopra observed.

Kohli has aggregated 417 runs at an average of 24.52 in 10 Tests in 2024. He has reached the half-century mark in just two of his 19 innings this year.