‘He is done’ – Virat Kohli slammed by cricket legend as India told to drop all-time superstar

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Virat Kohli’s place in the India team ahead of touring England later this year is under serious threat, according to David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd.

The 36-year-old endured a pretty shocking tour of Australia, where he scored a century in Perth, followed by no score higher than 41.

That 100 not out, scored in the second innings, was his first tonne since July 2023.

Despite scoring over 9,000 Test runs since his debut and becoming an all-time legend, Kohli’s form is extremely poor, and there is a feeling his place in the team is now under threat.

Throughout the whole of 2024, he averaged just 23, which for any top-order international batter is shocking.

India will head to England later this year for a five-match Test series that is arguably one of the biggest events in cricket.

But English cricket legend Bumble doesn’t believe that Kohli should be involved.

Speaking exclusively to the talkSPORT Cricket YouTube channel on the Bumble & Kimber show, he said: “Virat Kohli is 36, and he will know he is well past his best, and that will hurt.

“He has been one of the greatest players we’ve seen, but he’s past his best.

“So, the coach [Gautam Gambhir] will have a huge say on if he’s involved.”

If you look at Kohli’s form over the course of the last few years, you can clearly see a player in decline.

Virat Kohli in England

He is one of the most popular sports stars on the planet, boasting 270million Instagram followers, only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have more.

Those numbers are largely down to his huge following in India, but in Test cricket, this is a man who hasn’t been at the top of his game for a while.

Since the start of 2021, Kohli has made just three Test centuries, which, given he has 30 in his career, shows the struggles he’s had.

When asked if he thinks Kohli should play in the opening Test against England, Bumble added: “No, because the selectors need to find some players.

“That is the call of the selector, he is done, and they’ve got to make that call.”

But isn’t just Kohli who Bumble thinks could be in trouble because he has called for the BCCI [Board of Control for Cricket in India] to make Jasprit Bumrah captain over Rohit Sharma.

And with the fast bowler being the skipper, he would want him to pick the XI he wants.

Bumble said: “If I was involved at all with India, I would go to Jasprit Bumrah and say, ‘what’s your team for the first Test against England?’

“He could be captain, so what does he want.”

Keep up to date with all the latest news and interviews on the talkSPORT Cricket YouTube channel.