Much was expected of Virat Kohli as he entered the IPL 2022 season without the burden of captaincy. After leading India in all three formats, Kohli’s form sank even as cricket witnessed a new normal with a majority of players feeling the heat of bio-bubble restrictions. Kohli’s form went from bad to worse, but fans were optimistic about a strong comeback from the former RCB captain.
If early signs were anything, Virat Kohli promised a lot. He hit a solid 41 in RCB’s opening match of IPL 2022 against Punjab Kings. His 48 against Mumbai Indians also came at a good pace, but the Indian striker’s form has declined again.
LSG vs RCB, IPL 2022 Live Updates
On Tuesday, against Lucknow Super Giants, Virat Kohli looked helpless and frustrated when he… got out for a golden duck† Kohli stepped out for a first-ball 0 for just the 4th time in the IPL and the first time in 5 years.
Kohli jabbed over to a wide throw from Dushmantha Chameera in the 2nd and hit it straight to the pointfielder. It seemed like the extra bounce brought Kohli in. Kohli looked to the field and couldn’t believe his luck as his meager patch in the IPL continued. Kohli had just 119 runs in 7 games at an average of less than 25.
Kohli’s run without a hundred in competitive matches has expanded to 100 matches with his last three-digit score in the day-night test against Bangladesh in 2019.
Some of the fans took to social media on Tuesday expressing their disappointment at Virat Kohli’s skinny patch. A few even called for RCB to drop Kohli and give him a few games rest.
Death knell for #kohli it’s i fear the worst and it’s not just what the world and selectors think it’s he.. if he’s not the looter he can’t be a blocker whats the problem.. he’s a lion can’t only be a “part” of the team..must be the alpha male #RCBvsLSG
— Salilacharya (@Salilacharya) Apr 19, 2022
It hurts to see Virat Kohli like this.
Hope he is back in shape soon#RCBvsLSG pic.twitter.com/sEMEDFLOId— Sadaf Shamim (@imSadafShamim) Apr 19, 2022
Waiting for Virat to announce his retirement
— Hrithik Jain (@Hrithik82295473) Apr 19, 2022
#RCBvsLSG Isn’t it time? @imVkohli to realize himself that there are things seriously wrong with his batting class, his scratchy strikes for the last 3 years now? How long will he survive with this kind of form, any kind of cricket. #delivery gone wrong
— Sameer Drolia (@sameerdrolia) Apr 19, 2022
#ViratKohli #rcb take a break brother. Enough of this disappointment and come back stronger. @imVkohli † Heart pothundi bro :'(
— Prudhvi Raj (@UrsTrulyPJ) Apr 19, 2022
After the horrific WI and SL series with the Bat??, I was excited to see Rohit and Virat crush this year’s IPL, but nothing is going right at the moment. We seriously need you guys as WC is in Australia this year. backup??#ViratKohli?? #RohitSharma??
— Agravat Sagar (@agrvt_sagar) Apr 19, 2022
No use of tapping…must perform on the pitch
— Shantharaju (@imshantharaju) Apr 19, 2022
Keep making small runs every game. †
-Swarnim???? (@swarcasnim) Apr 19, 2022
Time for RCB to drop Virat Kohli, disappointing with the bat this season.
— Nagaraj Mysore (@nagarajms) Apr 19, 2022
Speaking of Kohli’s skinny patch, RCB head coach Sanjay Bangar admitted the runs have dried up for the former captain, but believed a big one from his bat is just around the corner.
“Certainly he’s going through some low scores at the moment. But he’s training really hard, I’ll try to look at it this way if I haven’t scored a big score in 7 innings, I’d rather say it’s just around the corner is.”