The collective failure of India's batting lineup is among the biggest talking points to have come out of their stunning 3-0 whitewash by New Zealand at home. Strangely enough, the lowest run scorers among their top six were also their most experienced batters - Virat Kohli (93 runs in six innings) and Rohit Sharma (91 runs in six innings). The fact that this was coupled with middling performances from senior spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin drove home the point that the Indian Test team, which has been a dominant force in the format for more than a decade and won a record 18 consecutive home series between 2012 and 2024, is indeed heading into a transition.

Rohit and Kohli were seen as the successors to India's proud heritage of batting greats in Test cricket the last time they experienced a transition. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman were the three highest run scorers for India in that generation. Kohli ended up having a prolific career of his own while Rohit took a while to reach the heights that was expected of him in Test cricket. But the veteran pair has struggled to find that kind of consistency in the last three years. Here, we try to compare how Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman fared in the three years in which they were of the same age as Kohli and Rohit have been in the stipulated period. But first, we take a detailed look at how the latter two have done themselves.

Virat Kohli

The start of 2022 brought about the end of an important era in Virat Kohli's career. The first match of the year was also his last India's captain in any format. By this point, he had also gone without a Test century for more than two years. His first innings of the year was a grinding knock of 79 off 201 balls on a difficult pitch Cape Town but India went on to lose that match by seven wickets. Kohli stepped down from captaincy shortly after the defeat, but his performance continued to dwindle that year. He finished 2022 with just 265 runs in six innings at an average of 26.50 with just one half-century.

In 2023, he finally broke his century drought with a 186 against Australia in the fourth Test in Ahmedabad and then scored 121 against West Indies later that year. Kohli finished 671 runs at an average of 55.91 with two centuries and as many half-centuries. However, Kohli has experienced another downturn in form thus far in 2024. The former India skipper has played six innings this year and scored just 250 runs at an average of 22.72 with one half-century Rohit Sharma.

Rohit Sharma

The start of 2022 was significant for Rohit as well as he succeeded Kohli as Test captain. It marked a remarkable turnaround for Rohit, who only had a stop-start Test career before establishing himself as an opener in 2019. While he was prolific in the two years before 2022, Rohit is yet to hit those highs again since becoming captain. He played only two Tests in 2022, scoring 90 runs at an average of 30.00. In 2023, Rohit scored 545 runs in eight Tests at an average of 41.92 with two centuries. He scored two more centuries in 2024 but his forgettable form in the series against New Zealand has meant that he is averaging just 29.40 in 11 Tests thus far this year, scoring 588 runs.

Virat Kohli was 32 years old at the start of 2022 and will end 2024 aged 36. Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, was 34 at the start of 2022 and turned 37 in April this year. With this in mind, let's take a look at how Tendulkar, Laxman and Dravid performed in the three years that they were of the same age.

Sachin Tendulkar (2006-2011)

Sachin Tendulkar was 32 at the start of 2006 and 37 at the end of 2011. He finished 2006 with an average of 24.27 in eight Test matches. Only twice before in his entire career had Tendulkar averaged less than 25 in a year in Tests. Tendulkar steadily returned to form in the next two years though, finishing with an average of 55.42 in 2007, having scored 776 runs in nine Tests with two centuries and six half-centuries. He then scored 1063 runs in 13 Tests in 2008 at 48.31 with four centuries and three half-centuries and then finished 2009 with an average of 541. He scored two centuries and three fifties in six Tests that year.

Tendulkar experienced the most prolific year of his Test career in 2010, scoring 1562 runs in 14 Tests at 78.10 with a whopping seven centuries and five half-centuries. In 2011, the year in which he also won the World Cup, Tendulkar averaged 47.25, scoring 756 runs in nine Tests with one century and five half-centuries.

Rahul Dravid (2006-2011)

Dravid, who is of the same age as Tendulkar, started 2006 with back-to-back centuries against Pakistan in Lahore and Faisalabad. It ended up being the second year in which he scored more than 1000 Test runs in a calendar year, accumulating 1095 runs in 12 matches at an average of 60.83 with three centuries and seven half-centuries. He experienced a dip in the next two years though. Dravid finished 2007 with 606 runs in 10 matches at an average of 35.64 with one century and three fifties. In 2008, he finished with an average of 30.96 in 15 Tests, scoring 805 runs with two centuries and four half-centuries.

Dravid then regained his batting mojo in 2010 and 2011, the two years in which he was dropped from ODIs. It was also at the end of this period that he retired from 50-over cricket, and Dravid was pretty much India's best batter by far in a calamitous 4-0 drubbing in England in 2011. He scored 771 runs in 12 Tests in 2010 at an average of 42.83 with three centures and a century in 2010. In 2011 he scored 1145 runs in 12 Tests at an average of 44.74 with five centuries and four half-centuries. He would play just three more Tests next year before ending his illustrious career.

VVS Laxman (2008-2012)

VVS Laxman was 33 at the start of 2008 and that was also his most prolific year in Test cricket. He had played 15 matches and scored 1086 runs at an average of 47.21 with two centuries and seven half-centuries. His good form continued the next two years. Laxman scored 471 runs in six Tests at an average of 67.28 in 2009, hitting a century and five fifties. In 2010, Laxman scored 939 runs at an average of 67.07 with two centures and seven half-centuries. Laxman had a good first half in 2011 but his form took a sharp dip during the aforementioned tour of England towards the middle of the year. He then scored an unbeaten 176 at his beloved Eden Gardens against the West Indies amidst calls for him to be dropped to make way for younger players. Like Dravid, Laxman only played three more Tests after that in 2012.

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