Champions Trophy 2025: How Virat Kohli changed his batting technique to return to form after Australia tour?

Team India star batter Virat Kohli showed a glimpse of his return to form when he played an unbeaten match-winning innings of 100 off 111 balls against Pakistan in the high-stakes Champions Trophy 2025 clash at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, February 23.  

Kohli’s return to his form delighted the Indian cricket fans. However, the star batter had made a technical change in his batting after the Australia Test tour, which saw him struggling against on-stump delivery. The 36-year-old did not have an ideal outing in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, amassing just 190 runs, including a century, at an average of 23.75 in nine innings. Virat Kohli getting dismissed on off-stump deliveries multiple times raising concerns about weakness in his batting technique. 

After the Test tour of Australia, Virat Kohli returned to Mumbai and worked on his footwork and technique with the help of trusted aide Sanjay Bangar, former India batting coach. During Bangar’s time as India batting coach from 2014 to 2019, Kohli registered 19 out of 30 Test centuries.

Last month, a video went viral on social media where Sanjay Bangar was seen giving throwdowns to Virat Kohli about 16-17 yards by pitching the ball on the cement slab. This was reportedly done to improve his footwork while facing the off-stump deliveries, which exposed his weakness against Australia. At the training facility in Mumbai, Virat Kohli worked hard to improve his technique by adjusting his backfoot movement with the throwdowns from Sanjay Bangar. Bangar shed more light on what transpired during the training session.

Speaking on Star Sports, Sanjay Bangar revealed that the Indian batting stalwart worked more on backfoot, which was evident during his innings against Pakistan in Dubai. 

“He (Kohli) waited for the ball to come to him. He really wasn’t on the front foot all the time. He was willing to cover the infield as well. Against spin, what was good to see in the first half of his innings was that he was playing a lot off the back foot.” The former India batting coach said. 

“Then once he got that confidence, he started coming forward. So, starting off the back foot and then gradually going on to the front foot was the plan," he added.

Bangar further highlighted Virat Kohli’s technical adjustment and intense preparation after the Australia Test tour, ensuring that his bat came down from the second or third region. 

“When Kohli was in form, his bat used to come from the second or third slip area, allowing him to play more controlled shots. He is a guy who leaves no stone unturned as far as preparation is concerned. He knew that he had to step up (after the Australia tour). He brought that intensity to his game, and one could see it in his body language," he added.

After the Australia Test tour, Virat Kohli took quite some time off from cricket and worked on his technique with the help of Sanjay Bangar before making his return to Ranji Trophy after a gap of 12 years. However, Kohli did not have an ideal return to India’s premier domestic tournament as he was bowled out for 6 by lesser-known Railways pacer Himanshu Sangwan. In the ODI series against England, Kohli was dismissed for just five runs in the second match before scoring 52 off 55 balls in the final game.

Sanjay Bangar praised Virat Kohli’s focus on watching the ball before making a contact with the bat, adding that he has a hunger for runs and potential to play at international level for another 3-4 years. 

“What he did well was to watch the ball till the end, till it made contact with his bat. That’s something we discussed – to watch the ball like a hawk and give more than 100% to each delivery. He is hungry for runs and going by the innings he played (against Pakistan), he can easily play for another 3-4 years in international cricket," former India batting coach said.

After a century knock against India’s arch-rivals Pakistan, Virat Kohli will be looking to carry on his form into the remaining matches, especially the final group stage match against New Zealand and the semifinal. In the ongoing edition of the Champions Trophy, Kohli has aggregated 122 runs, including a century, at an average of 122 in two matches.