Virat Kohli warned to 'upgrade' his game against left-arm spin by ex-India cricketer

Former India left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha expects Virat Kohli to evolve his game to overcome the challenge of left-arm spin bowling ahead of the two-match Test series against Bangladesh. It is to be noted that Kohli's record against left-arm spin over the past few years is not great.

Since 2020, Kohli has scored 272 runs in 25 Test innings at an average of just 30.2. However, this wasn't always the case with Kohli. The 35-year-old had a brilliant record before that phase as he averaged a whopping 110.7 against left-arm spin, having scored 775 runs in 53 Test innings.

Bangladesh have two quality left-arm spinners in their ranks in the form of Shakib Al Hasan and Taijul Islam. With Kohli susceptible to left-arm spin bowling, Bangladesh are likely to come prepared to attack Kohli's weakness.

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Pragyan Ojha expects Virat Kohli to "evolve" to overcome the challenge of left-arm spin

While speaking to InsideSport, Pragyan Ojha was asked about Virat Kohli's weakness against left-arm spin bowling. But the ex-India spinner reckoned that Kohli can overcome these challenges since he has played international cricket for such a long time now. He expects Kohli to evolve his game and upgrade himself.

“When you talk about players like Virat Kohli, they’ve played more than a decade of international cricket. There will be a time when there are different challenges, and you’ll need to upgrade yourself. Legends of the game always evolve, and I expect him to evolve,” Ojha said.

Ojha further mentioned that Kohli has set such a high benchmark that even a half-century seems like a failure to him. He also praised Kohli's work ethic and claimed that it is just a matter of time before he overcomes his weakness.

"Greats have had their challenges and overcame them. I’m very sure Virat will always do that; it’s just a matter of time. Virat has set the benchmark so high that even a 50 or 60 looks like a failure for him. That’s just how he’s contributed to the Indian team. It’s just a phase; the way he trains and his work ethic—it’s just a matter of time (before he comes good)," the former India left-arm spinner added.

Virat Kohli's bad phase

Virat Kohli went through poor form during a phase between 2020 and 2022 in which he did not score a single international hundred. He ended the drought with a century over Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup 2022 in September of that year. This also ended up being his only T20I hundred. He retired from the format after India's T20 World Cup 2024 win in June,

After facing Bangladesh, Kohli will play the three-match Test series against New Zealand at home. However, his biggest test will be the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in which Australia will host India for a five-match Test series. The series will begin in November 2024 and will continue till the early part of next year.