Virat is the run machine of the Indian cricket team across all the formats. He has been the pillar of the middle order of the team even in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for his franchise team Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

In the upcoming season as well Kohli will be their main man and RCB will look to end their trophy drought in IPL 2023 edition. 

The King has overcome his string of low scorers in the one-day international and T20 International format.

This year Virat Kohli also smashed his maiden and only century in the shortest format in the Asia Cup 2022 and he also had a good T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. King Kohli was the highest run-getter in that ICC mega event Down Under. 

In the third ODI against Bangladesh, Virat Kohli also smashed a ton which came after 1048 days and inched closer to the landmark of 100 international centuries.

Kohli is placed second in the list of the players with the most centuries in the international cricket arena. But his form in Test match cricket isn't great and it has been a long time since Kohli hasn’t scored a century in the red ball format and his last test ton was in 2019.

Kohli has an average of just 26. 50 in Red Ball Cricket this year

This year of 2022 hasn’t been that great for the King of cricket. He has actually struggled for runs and he was not the Kohli who used to single-handedly win matches in all three formats for India.

The old Virat perished in 2022. But for a little time. He even stepped down from the captaincy in all three formats. 

Kohli also went on a long vacation and returned back strongly in the T20 International format. He also smashed a ton against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup 2022 which came after 13 years of playing the shortest format.

Still, that is a big achievement from Kohli because scoring a ton in T20I isn't easy. 

But Kohli’s form in Test matches hasn't taken a U-turn like it did in T20Is and ODI format. He had a below-par average of 26.50 in the red ball format.

After the COVID-19 post-period, Kohli has a string of low scorers in the traditional Test format. In the last three years, Virat has scored just six half-centuries and he has amassed 917 runs in last the period of 2020, 2021 and 2022. That too without a hundred.

Virat Kohli had a lower average in 2011

It is not the first time that Virat Kohli had a below-par average in the red ball format. Virat didn't have a great start to his international cricket career in 2011.

It wasn't a fairytale start like Rohit Sharma had and now Shubman Gill has. That time also Kohli struggled for runs. In 2011, VK had a lower average than 26.50. 

In the year in which Kohli made his Test debut against West Indies, Virat registered only two half-centuries and he could not score a single hundred in the red ball format.

He scored just 202 runs with an average of just 22.44, which is lower than his current one in 2022. But Kohli bounced back well and became the best modern-day batter in Tests, ODIs and T20Is.

Kohli’s form: Is it a concern before the start of Test series against Australia?

Virat Kohli loves playing against the Aussies and they are an opponent who also loves to challenge him. The King has played memorable knocks against Australia in Test matches in the past.

Now that Australia is under a new skipper Pat Cummins, the Aussies will look to be dominant like they play at home. Under Cummins, Australia is yet to lose a Test series. 

Australia will tour India in 2023 for four Test matches and three one-day international matches. The four Test matches will be a great challenge for Team India as they need to win the series by a 3-0 or 3-1 margin to stay in the hunt for the qualification of the World Test Championship (WTC) Final in 2023. 

Kohli has scored 1682 runs against Australia in the Test format. He has played 20 Test matches and 36 innings and has an average of 48.05 with seven centuries and five half-centuries.

As Kohli’s fans, we expect that the year 2023 will bring a louder cheer and the King gets back to his old vintage form against The Aussies and later in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023.