‘Kohli hungry for runs, no need to judge after every match’

Bengaluru : India head coach Gautam Gambhir is not too concerned about the recent lukewarm form of Virat Kohli, insisting that the star batter remains as hungry as he was when he made his debut and should not be judged after every match. Kohli has made only one fifty, a 76 against South Africa at Centurion in December 2023, in his last eight innings, and him regaining his touch is crucial for India against New Zealand in a three-Test rubber starting on Wednesday and during the five-match series against Australia next month.

Gambhir is confident that Kohli will come good very soon. "See, my thoughts about Virat have always been very clear that he is a world-class cricketer. He has performed for such a long period of time. He is as hungry as when he made his debut. To now, his hunger is always there," Gambhir told reporters here on Monday.

"That hunger is what makes him a world-class cricketer. I am sure that he will be hungry to get runs in this series and probably moving forward to Australia as well," he added.

Gambhir said the prolific batter, once he gets into "those runs scoring phases", is remarkably consistent. "So, I am sure that he will be looking for these three Test matches in the series and then to Australia."