Aakash Chopra refers to Virat Kohli as 'the comeback king'

Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has referred to Virat Kohli as ‘the comeback king’ for his stunning return to run-scoring ways after he had been virtually written off. Kohli made an indifferent start to his Test career against the West Indies in 2011 and had a horror run in his first long-format tour to England in 2014. After being at his prolific best for the next few years, the modern batting great again struggled for runs during the COVID-19 period before returning to his former best ahead of the 2022 T20 World Cup.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said: “Last but not the least, the comeback king. You go up but then fall. Everyone has to fall but the important thing is how many times someone can climb back again. He fell once in 2011-12 but then he stood up. After that, he reigned for eight to ten years. There wasn’t a blip at all. That was one blip after which he probably decided – ‘Never again’. He played with the commitment continuously but then it came again during COVID, when he wasn’t scoring runs. He hadn’t scored a century for a long time. He missed quite a few matches and many people had written him off.”

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However, Virat Kohli didn’t score an international hundred across formats for almost three years after his 136-run knock in the pink-ball Test against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in November 2019. He had an average of less than 30 in Test cricket in all three years between 2020 and 2022 as well.

“Yours truly also said that he is no longer part of the Fab 4. He is now, by the way. It was about the runs at that time, in that period of two years, but he is back again. Steve Smith has fallen away. Kane Williamson is also going 50-50 but this guy is still there. He was there then also and has returned now,” Aakash Chopra concluded. “The way he has made a comeback has made the story even more beautiful. It seemed like things were done and dusted and you came and played a World Cup, and became the Player of the Tournament. You reinvented the wheel once again and reignited that passion.”