IND vs BAN: Why Shakib Al Hasan Could Be A Nemesis Of Virat Kohli During The Test Series?

Shakib Al Hasan and Virat Kohli [X]

India will start their long Test season with the first of the two-match series against Bangladesh on September 19. This series will be Gautam Gambhir's debut as the head coach of India in this format. One of the key players in Gambhir’s plans will be Virat Kohli. Batting at number four, Kohli will be crucial in providing stability during batting. 

Bangladesh are coming into this game on the back of a convincing series win against Pakistan on their home turf. Najmul Hossain Shanto and his boys will leave no stone unturned to pull off another surprise and overhaul the hosts in this series. One of the key players for Bangladesh will be Shakib al Hasan. With a plethora of experience and all-round abilities, Shakib will be a key to the team’s performance in both batting and bowling. 

When these two cricketing heavyweights clash, Shakib al Hasan, the bowler, can become Virat Kohli's nemesis; here is why. 

Virat Kohli’s long absence from the longest format of the game

Virat Kohli played a crucial knock for India in the T20 World Cup Final against South Africa. After that, he played against Sri Lanka in the ODI format. So, both these appearances for Kohli were in limited overs formats. When it comes to playing multi-day cricket, Kohli last played a Test match against South Africa in January. 

This long absence from the format might cause big trouble for Kohli in the upcoming series. He will have to adjust his game to the format, and with the wickets expectedly assisting the spinners, Shakib al Hasan might get the better of the star Indian batter. 

Virat Kohli’s recent struggle against spinners

Till 2019, there were no questions over Kohli’s batting against spin. However, from 2020, the star batter has struggled when it comes to handling spinners. Here is a glimpse of his record against spinners since 2020. 

So, the numbers show that even though he has taken 12 overs to get dismissed once against the spinners, his stay has not been comfortable. He has scored only 32 runs against spinners before being dismissed by them. The biggest concern probably is that his trademark of rotating the strike and keeping the scoreboard moving is missing against the spinners in this period. A strike rate of 45.21 is a testament to that. 

Left-arm spinners getting the better of Kohli

When we compare Kohli’s career numbers against spinners with his numbers against left-arm spinners, we find he has handled the left-armers better. However, in the last three years, he has struggled particularly against left-arm orthodox spinners.

Here is Kohli’s record against left-arm spinners in the last three years in Test cricket - 

The numbers are evidence enough that Kohli has visibly struggled against the left-arm spinners in Test cricket in the last three years. 

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Virat Kohli vs Shakib al Hasan

Virat vs Shakib  - Test Cricket

Regarding the face-off between these two players, the sample size for Test cricket is relatively smaller. So, let us look at their face-off numbers in a format which is the next longest in the international arena, ODI cricket. 

Virat vs Shakib - ODI Cricket

It is known to all that Virat Kohli enjoys the ODI format the most. So, even in a format where Kohli generally dominates, Shakib al Hasan has got the better of him. Hence, in the longest format of the game, with the wickets assisting the spinners, Shakib al Hasan might be a big headache for Kohli in the upcoming series. 

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