IPL 2022: 'Once Virat gets his next century, there will be a lot more after that' - NZ great 'surprised' at Kohli's form

Two years, four months and eight days. Better put, 859 days. That's how long Virat Kohli has gone without a century in international cricket or IPL. Besides India's shooting fuel prices, the number that is on every cricket fan's mind is 71. Even though the audiences have been clamouring for Kohli's impending century, their patience levels are beginning to run thin. Everytime Kohli is dismissed for anything less than a hundred, people believe he is 'not in form'. The belief was that letting go of captaincy would bring out the best in Kohli the batter, but the results have been even more disappointing. Barring the two half-centuries against South Africa, Kohli has struggled against West Indies and Sri Lanka with a highest score of 52 in nine innings across ODIs, Tests and T20Is. (Also Follow: IPL 2022 Full Coverage)

Over the years, of all the comparisons and similarities that have been drawn between Kohli and the great Sachin Tendulkar, this one takes the cake. Kohli's wait for his 71st century brings back memories of how the entire country waited with bated breath for Tendulkar to score his 100th hundred. We all know it will come eventually, but as was the case with Sachin, Kohli too is a prisoner of his own greatness.

In a nation obsessed with stats, here is one to enlighten you. In the West Indies ODIs, Kohli registered scores of 8, 18 and 0, a total of 26 runs which is the second-lowest he has ever scored in a three-match bilateral ODI series. Before this, it was during the home series against Pakistan in 2012/13, where Kohli had managed only 13 runs in three innings averaging 4.33. Next, earlier this month, Kohli's career hit a new low for the first time in five years after a forgettable outing in the Bengaluru pink-ball Test as his average dropped below 50.

Does this trigger a red flag for Kohli? Every great batter has gone through such a phase in his career. It is given that every player, during age 32-33-34 needs to reassess and re-evaluate his game, and Kohli is no exception. While cricket greats across the world have weighed in on Kohli's lean patch, New Zealand great Ross Taylor reckons his former Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate is not enduring anything new; however, he does admit being surprised at just how long Kohli has gone without a big score.

"The only difference is... he was successful for such a long period of time and set the bar so high that people just got used to him scoring runs. And it has been a surprise that he hasn't been as successful as he was for year upon year. But you know cricket is a tough game. You go through different periods. Virat, Steve Smith... they all go through it. He is a world-class player and will come out the other side. It's only a matter of when he scores runs but I see Virat playing for a long time and scoring a lot more runs," Taylor told Hindustan Times in an interview.

To be honest, the two innings so far in the IPL playing for RCB is the most-assured Kohli has looked in a long time. His knock of 41 against Punjab Kings brought back memories of 'King Kohli' as he played with intent and was not afraid of playing the big shots. Against KKR, Kohli began with a flourish, cracking a couple of fours off his first two balls before nicking to the keeper. The prime difference between Kohli of 2016-18 and his version of now is the lapse in concentration. About four to six years ago, Kohli had razor-sharp focus. Each time he would cross fifty, a hundred was there for the taking nine out of 10 times. But since 2020, Kohli has had 21 fifty-plus scores – 6 in Tests, 9 in ODIs and 6 in T20Is. The conversion rate just isn't the same. In fact, Kohli once hit three fifties in a row in ODIs, and after three low scores, notched up four more in a row. Surprisingly enough, still no hundred.

While the general notion is that relinquishing the captaincy makes it easier for the player to concentrate on his craft, Taylor reckons that in Kohli's case, it's the other way around and that Virat will take time transitioning back into just a player. Having said that, Taylor is confident that Kohli has a lot to offer and has made a prediction the entire cricket-loving nation of India would hope come true.

"It has always been a tough transition when you've been a captain and when you just go in to be a normal player. But he is young enough and having given up the captaincy, I'm sure he is going to have different pressures. But I'm sure the relaxed nature of him not having to do the toss and going out there and make decisions will make a difference. As I said, regardless of whether he is captain or not, he is a world-class player I am sure that once he gets that next hundred, there will be a lot more after that," pointed out Taylor.