Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has opened up on the backlash that he has faced for criticising Virat Kohli’s batting. After a poor Test series in Australia in 2024/25, Kohli decided to call time on his career in the format. His sudden retirement came in May, just before India announced the squad for England Test series. Kohli could manage to score only 190 runs across 9 innings despite a century in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The poor outing added to his troubles in Test cricket as the player was already going through a noticeable dip in form.
What made it all even poorer was the fact that the mode of Kohli’s dismissals were similar in majority of the innings. He would end up losing his wicket by edging the ball to slips or the wicketkeeper, more often than not. While speaking on The Lallantop‘s show Guest in the Newsroom, Pathan pointed out that the poor form of Kohli continued for a long time.
“If you look at my social media, there was Virat Kohli’s slump in 2019-20. At that time, it was said that it was the time of COVID, and he wasn’t getting inspiration. I thought that when a player of big stature undergoes their first slump, then they should be backed. If you look at my social media, I backed him a lot. One, he deserved it, and won a lot of matches. If the slump continues for five years, then it’s not right,” Pathan said.
“Eventually, the team has to be at the top. Team is No. 1; we play for the team, we play to win games. If a batsman gets out in a similar manner, the opposition team plans accordingly. They won’t go to plan B. They will get you out using plan A. If you’re a champion player, then you’ve to take them from plan A to plan B. The problem with Virat in Test cricket was that he was getting out similarly every now and then. That doesn’t mean he’s a bad player; he’s a champion player, but it’s happening. You’ve to explain what you are seeing in detail,” he added.
Pathan further spoke about his duties as a commenator. He stated that his job as a commentator is to cater the fans, not the players.
“See, I believe that as a broadcaster, when the commentary is going on and the fans are watching the match, you have to go ahead of the visuals and speak about what’s happening. The broadcaster and commentator’s work is – what is happening and why it is happening. What can happen and how? If a player is doing exceptionally well, you praise him, and if they are not performing well, then criticize him. The commentators’ responsibility is towards the fans, not players.”
