Former India cricketer and reputed commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has pointed out what he feels is a peculiar similarity between India batting greats Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar. Kohli did not enjoy a good return to Test cricket, scoring 6 and 17 in his two innings against Bangladesh in the first Test. Playing his first Test since January, Kohli failed to fire, choosing to not review an LBW decision that was later shown to be not out. Manjrekar drew an odd comparison between Kohli and Tendulkar.
"He's not enjoying batting in India as much. Like (Sachin) Tendulkar, I think he feels more at home away from home," said Manjrekar, analysing Kohli's form on the ESPNCricinfo YouTube channel.
"We saw in South Africa how well he played. He was by far India's best batter. But it's fine, better to get runs away from home than at home," added Manjrekar.
Kohli was wrongly given out LBW in the second innings after replays showed that the ball had kissed his bat before hitting his pad. However, Kohli decided not to go for a review, despite batting partner Shubman Gill seemingly asking him to go for it.
"Felt bad for Virat today. He obviously didn't think he had hit it. Just wanted to know from Gill if the ball was hitting stumps. Despite Gill encouraging him to go for the review anyway, he walked away dejected wanting to keep the 3 reviews for his team," Manjrekar posted on X.
Kohli has been out of red ball action since the two-match Test series tour of South Africa in January 2024. He had missed the entire five-match home Test series against England after that due to the birth of his second child.
Despite his low score, Kohli racked up yet another achievement in international cricket, notching up 12,000 runs on home soil. He ranks second in that list among Indians, only behind Tendulkar.