Virat Kohli was a walking wicket in the two-test series against Bangladesh. In 2024, Kohli has played in just three Tests but hasn’t scored a fifty-plus score.

Kohli registered 6, 17, 47, and 29* in four innings against Najmul Hossain Shanto’s team.

The former will now play in three red-ball games against New Zealand. Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir is backing Kohli to come good with the bat.

“Virat Kohli is a world-class cricketer who has scored runs for a long time. He is still hungry for success. I opened the batting with him when he made his debut in Sri Lanka. He was hungry then, and sane is the case now. I am sure he is looking forward to the New Zealand and Australia series.

“He can be consistent once he gets into the run-scoring spree. I am sure he will be eager to score runs against New Zealand and Australia,” he added.

In 11 Tests against New Zealand, Virat has scored 866 runs at 45.57, including three hundred and as many fifties. In six Tests against the Kiwis at home, the veteran has scored 557 runs, including two tons and as many half-centuries. He is behind Rahul Dravid (1659), Sachin Tendulkar (1595), Virender Sehwag (883), and Cheteshwar Pujara (867).

Gambhir also made a bold prediction on cricket: “This is the era of bowlers. Batters can only make matches. We should end our batter-obsessed attitude. There is no guarantee that a team will win if a batter scores 1000 runs, but if bowlers take 20 wickets, the winning chances are 99%. Bowlers win you tournaments across formats,” he concluded.