India vs England: 'Virat Kohli is going to slam a big century in the Test series,' claims childhood coach

New Delhi, Aug 24: India captain Virat Kohli is going through a rough patch with the bat as the charismatic batsman has failed to score big runs in the last couple of years.

The explosive right-handed batsman from Delhi - who is known for his iconic knocks - hasn't been in the best of his form lately. In between August 30 2019 to August 24, 2021, Kohli has played 16 matches and amassed 936 runs, and averaged 40.69, which is way less than his career average of 51.41.

In this period, Kohli - who has notched up 27 Test tons in his career - slammed just two centuries (254* against South Africa in Pune & 136 against Bangladesh in Kolkata). Both these tons came in the year 2019.

ICC Rankings: Virat Kohli static on 5th, Mohammad Siraj, KL Rahul move up; Root closes in on No 1 slot

Kohli's batting figures plummet further in between 2020-21. Since January 2020, the right-handed swashbuckler has featured in 10 Tests and amassed a paltry 407, and averaged a below-par 23.94. Kohli hasn't slammed a single century across formats during this period.

Kohli's poor outings with the bat have also hampered his Test Rankings for he has now slipped to fifth in the latest ICC Test Rankings for batsmen.

His England counterpart, Joe Root - who is having a memorable 2021 with the bat in the red-ball format - has surpassed Kohli in the latest Test rankings. While fans are worried about Kohli's batting form, his childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma believes a big century is in the offing from the talismanic batsman in the ongoing Test series between England and India.

"I don't feel there is any need to motivate him because he is extremely motivated. When I had spoken to him after the last match as well, he was quite excited and was happy that they had won and was not too worried about his runs. When he has such an attitude, a big hundred is about to come," Sharma told India News.

Asked if the challenge from Root has affected Kohli's run-making spree, Sharma said, "I would say it is a challenge for Virat to chase Joe Root. I have full hope because I have known Virat from his childhood, he loves challenges. So it is a good challenge and we will see a good contest in the upcoming matches."

When asked about Kohli's latest ICC Rankings in Test cricket, Sharma - who is the head coach of the Delhi Ranji Team - said, "It is shocking news for me too that Virat Kohli has fallen to the fifth spot. I was expecting that Joe Root would have probably gone ahead of him. I will definitely talk to him."

The third Test of the five-match series between England and India begins Wednesday (August 25) at Headingley, Leeds. India are 1-0 up in the series.