Who said what - top 5 expert reactions to Virat Kohli's struggling innings in BAN vs IND Champions Trophy 2025 clash ft. Harbhajan Singh

Star India batter Virat Kohli failed to get going against Bangladesh in the 2025 Champions Trophy match on Thursday, February 20. The Men In Blue were chasing 229 runs and went on to win by six wickets.

However, Kohli could not score big and struggled while he was at the crease. He could only manage to score 22 runs off 38 deliveries at a strike-rate of 57.89. It was a slightly tricky wicket to bat on. His weakness against spin was evident once again as 22-year-old spinner Rishad Hossain got the better of him.

While Virat Kohli scored a half-century against England in the final ODI at home, he could not begin the 2025 Champions Trophy as he would have expected to. As India play Pakistan next, the team will hope that Kohli gets back among the runs.

On that note, here is what some former cricketers had to say after his failure in the game against Bangladesh.

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Top 5 expert reactions to Virat Kohli's struggling innings in BAN vs IND Champions Trophy 2025 clash

#5 Parthiv Patel

Former Indian wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel stated that the slow nature of the wicket made it difficult for Virat Kohli given his struggles against spin. While Kohli took some time, Parthiv reckoned that his innings never gained the required momentum and therefore he could not score big.

"We were talking that it is a two-paced pitch. The ball was stopping and it did prove to be difficult for Virat Kohli. He took 10 balls to get his first run. It takes time to adjust and it took him that time. It never looked anywhere as though his innings caught momentum. This is not the first time. When spinners come he does play some dot balls. Today he could not play a long innings," he said on Cricbuzz.

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#4 Anil Kumble

Former India captain and coach Anil Kumble believes that Virat Kohli is trying too hard, particularly against spin. He said that Kohli is trying to score runs rather than looking to rotate strike against spin.

"To start off against spin, on surfaces like that, you need a lot of confidence. He's certainly trying too hard to manoeuvre that. He's a good player of spin when he's in form, when he's wanting to just knock singles off and keep rotating the strike. Now he's trying too hard to score runs rather than just manoeuvre, and that's been his game plan," he stated on ESPN Cricinfo Match Day.

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#3 Robin Uthappa

Former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa spoke about Virat Kohli's mindset, reflecting that he is caught between trying to middle the ball and score runs. Uthappa feels that Kohli will have to address himself and try to break free from this space.

“Virat, the great batter that he is, will have to address himself because, I think in a sense he's in his head a little bit. It feels like that from the outside. It feels like he's looking to middle the ball versus when he actually is batting well, he's looking to get runs," he was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

Uthappa added that once Kohli frees his head and expresses himself, the runs will start flowing again.

"He's not worried about middling the ball because the intent itself is different. And I think he's trying to break free from that space of trying to middle the ball versus scoring runs and he's finding himself caught in between is what I'm feeling from the outside. I think it's a matter of time, the minute he frees his head up and just goes out there and expresses himself, the runs will flow,” he said.

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#2 Sanjay Manjrekar

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar reckons that Kohli is in a tight corner and his confidence is still down. Manjrekar believes that Kohli is trying to show he is up for a fight.

“He's in a tight corner, Virat Kohli. His confidence is still down…He wants to still show that he's up there for a fight, and I am starting to see maybe there's a little bit of bravado as well, and why not? You can't be revealing what's inside you," he opined on ESPN Cricinfo Match Day.

According to Manjrekar, Kohli also does not have the big game anymore like Rohit Sharma or Shubman Gill, stating that he cannot hit at will like these other batters do.

“Rohit Sharma still has the big game. He can step out and hit a guy over extra cover and play the short-arm pull and [is] willing to take chances. Virat Kohli doesn't have the big game anymore. We've seen on occasion him playing the big shot, but he can't hit at will hit like a Shubman Gill does," he added.

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#1 Harbhajan Singh

Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh reflected that Virat Kohli has a discomfort against leg-spinners in particular and that he needs to come up with some plan against them.

"I certainly believe that slower bowlers, leggies, have given him some sort of discomfort. He needs to come up with some plan against leggies. He needs to find a way to convert those dot balls into singles. I think when the form is not there, this is exactly what happens-you tend to take a lot more time, you tend to take more time to settle into an innings. That's exactly what is happening with Virat Kohli," he was quoted as saying by India Today.

Harbhajan also added that the reputation of a player does not count and only the intent shown will take a player forward.

"Cricket is a great leveller. It goes on to show that no matter how big you are, your reputation will not count. But what you do there, the intent that you show, will take you forward," he said.