In white-ball cricket, renowned Indian player Virat Kohli has been having trouble against leg-spin.
His achievements in the forthcoming 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL), which begins on March 22, may be impacted by the same.
Kohli is attempting to lead Royal Challengers Bengaluru to their first championship with this assignment.
Kohli’s struggles against leg-spin: A closer look
Recent performances by Kohli have raised questions, and critics have pointed to his inability to adapt. He was seen struggling against Adil Rashid in the ODI series against England earlier this year.
He attempted a cut shot while India was playing Bangladesh in the Champions Trophy opener. He got out. As per ESPNcricinfo, Kohli has been dismissed by leggies four times across five white-ball outings (all ODIs) this year.
In this battle, he only scores 15 on average.
Stats
Recent struggles by Kohli against leg-spin Kohli’s tally of 1,380 runs is the most for a batter in the last two IPL seasons.
Since 2023, his average against leg-spin has been 57.50, but not particularly impressive. Since 2023, he has been bowled out four times in 15 innings by these bowlers. His average comes down to 39.75 in this regard (SR: 121.37).
Impact
Age and pressure: Factors affecting Kohli’s performance
Kohli may not be able to perform as well as he did a decade ago because of the age of his body and his reflexes. He may also be suffering from the stress of figuring out how to stop leg spin and left-arm spin. It’s possible that he’s putting too much pressure on himself to find gaps in the field, which could make it harder for him to bowl like this.
Impressive numbers
Average of over 50 in comparison to leg-spin Meanwhile, leg-spinners have not always been Kohli’s nemesis as his overall record against them is mighty impressive.
He has accumulated 1,107 runs against them in his IPL career at a terrific average of 50.31. He has a strike rate of 135.82. Kohli has fallen prey to these bowlers 22 times across 106 IPL innings. In the upcoming season, the batting champion would be determined to improve these numbers.
Most runs in IPL history
Kohli has been a consistent performer for RCB, having played 252 matches and scored an impressive 8,004 runs at an average of 38.66.
Shikhar Dhawan is the next-best batter, but the 35-year-old batsman has the most runs (6,769). In the last season alone, he scored 741 runs and won the prestigious Orange Cap.
Kohli has the most IPL runs (8), and he also has 55 half-centuries in his collection.