Mumbai: Indian cricket’s former captain and talisman, Virat Kohli, continue to fail with the bat in both the recently concluded series against Bangladesh and New Zealand. Even in the past, Kohli was consistent but now one gets the feeling that he is struggling for runs. Further, this lean period has emerged at a wrong time – just before the approaching Team India’s Australia tour and Kohli’s 36th birthdays. Surrounded by all these fuss about his form, Kohli has the blessings of Neem Karoli Baba, a saint he admires.
The Blessing Before the Birthday
The blessings came as a gift on the eve of Kohli’s thirty-six birthday on the 5th of November. Recently there was a video clip released where a fan presented Virat with a picture of Lord Hanuman after a baptism match in Mumbai test against New Zealand. This has resulted in spreading the video on most social networks. Kohli has extreme devotion to Hanuman and is a fan of Neem Karoli Baba who is considered incarnate of Hanuman.
Kohli had travelled to the Neem Karoli Baba Ashram at Kainchi Dham near Nainital in 2022 two years back. Guptill was struggling with his form at that time and so was Kohli only months ago. He has been lucky since the visit though because after that For Kohli, it has been all about power packed performances in all forms of the game where he scores heaps of runs. With the blessings of Lord Hanuman and Neem Karoli Baba fans still believe that yet a greater come back lies in store as India gears up for the Australian tour.
The Current Struggle
I really feel disappointed with Virat Kohli current series performance, especially the just concluded series against New Zealand. In Mumbai Test match itself, where Team India was bowled out for a paltry score on the grounds of Wankhede Stadium, Kohli made only four runs in the first innings and a mere one run in the second. All told he scored 93 runs in as many balls faced, including only one half-century in a series that spanned out five matches. This kind of a performance has drawn called for and people are now starting to think that this might signal the decline of the super-star batsman’s career.
Fans Remain Hopeful
Given the continually increasing pressure on Kohli due to his poor performance recently, there is still hope that the Bar of Neem Karoli Baba is enough to do the magic again. With Australia around the corner, many are praying for a repeat of the dramatic resurgence Kohli demonstrated two years ago after visiting the Kainchi Dham ashram.
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