Cricket admirers attacked Virat Kohli after the national selectors named the talismanic Team India batter in the squad for the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan.
The series against Afghanistan is Team India's last T20I assignment before the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the US in June.
The series against Afghanistan begins in Mohali on January 11.
However, some fans on social media claimed that Virat Kohli was a “selfish” cricketer who never played for the team and instead focused on individual milestones.
For instance, Virat Kohli's strike rate during the 2023 ODI World Cup was 90 compared to Rohit Sharma, who scored his runs at a strike rate of over 120.
Furthermore, Virat Kohli plays in T20Is as an anchor. Fans claimed that an anchor wasn't needed in the format anymore because power hitters had taken over.
It's been 26 months since we lost T20 World Cup match by 10 wickets that too from Pakistan which resulted in group stage exit , still everyone blames Rohit Sharma who atleast took the team to Semis 💔 where Virat Kohli played selfish 41(50) to make sure India lose the world cup.… https://t.co/Epr5oK8Z3e pic.twitter.com/FOz5Sg9ELr
— Ctrl C Ctrl Memes (@Ctrlmemes_) January 10, 2024
Rohit Sharma single handedly fighting with BCCI to select Kohli in T20I squad.
But Virat Kohli is going to betray him in return with his selfish cricket ! 🙂💔 pic.twitter.com/saBmf4Hrr1
— 𝐇𝐲𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝕏 (@ImHydro45) January 7, 2024
Virat Kohli's 2023 WC campaign is the most overrated campaign in the history of cricket. Blud done stat padding in whole tournament. Played selfish in final and got out.
— Pull Shot (@45PullShot) January 9, 2024
On Sunday, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli returned to India's T20I squad after 14 months, leaving KL Rahul on the sidelines.
Latest reports suggest that Rohit Sharma is on course to lead in the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the US in June.
While Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have made themselves available for the T20 World Cup, the latter's place in the national squad for the premier competition is reportedly not guaranteed as the selectors are keen to infuse fresh blood in the team.
“If you have Rohit, Shubman Gill, Virat, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik constituting your top five then where is your left-hander? Now, let's assume you drop Kohli and play Gill at No.3 with Yashasvi Jaiswal opening with Rohit. Can Ajit take that bold call,” a former national selector told PTI.
“The flexibility will always be an issue but there would always be external factors that need to be countered. Did you see ICC promoting the tourney with Kohli's giant billboard video in New York. MI handle put that aerial advert of Rohit and Shaheen Shah Afridi. So there will be external pressure,” the ex-BCCI office bearer affirmed.
“It will be on Jay how much he can empower Agarkar's committee. As of now you need to accommodate both or drop both. The sensible thing would be to include both for Afghanistan and not make any promise for World T20 till the IPL performance is monitored,” the veteran administrator explained.
Interestingly, the doubts over Virat Kohli's place in India's T20 squad for the World Cup come despite the Delhi-born cricketer being the highest run-getter in the last edition of the competition in Australia in 2022.
Moreover, if one talks about strike rate, which is the most crucial factor for a batter in T20Is, Virat Kohli's strike rate was much better than Rohit Sharma's in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.
According to reports, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been picked for the T20I series against Afghanistan, with the rider that an impressive showing in the three matches against the Central Asian side isn't a guarantee for a place in the squad for the T20 World Cup later this year.
The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee has reportedly conveyed to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma that they would have to score heavily in the Indian Premier League (IPL) to be in contention for a spot in the T20 World Cup.
Unlike Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma hasn't been in the best of forms in T20Is. The 36-year-old made only 656 runs at an average of 24.29 and a strike rate of 134.42 in T20Is in 2022, the last year he featured for Team India in the format.
In contrast, Virat Kohli was a prolific scorer in 2022, scoring 781 runs in 20 T20I matches at a superb average of 55.78 and a strike rate of 138.23.
That's why the 35-year-old batter's supporters began criticizing Rohit Sharma. Through this, they emphasized that the Indian Cricket Board included Virat Kohli in the squad for the Afghanistan series due to pressure from his fans.
If one talks about KL Rahul, the Karnataka batter has transformed his game, becoming a vital cog in Team India's Test and ODI squads.
Recently, KL Rahul struck a hundred on a fast-paced Centurion pitch in the first Test against South Africa. His ton was described as one of the best in history by an Indian batter by the legendary Sunil Gavaskar.
KL Rahul now plays in the middle order and that too as a wicketkeeper-batter, lending balance to the Indian team, and that's why his admirers were critical of the selectors for excluding him from the T20I squad for the Afghanistan series.
Coming to Rohit Sharma, even his captaincy has come under the spotlight in recent weeks, with multiple cricket pundits sharing critical views about Rohit Sharma's leadership, with Sanjay Manjrekar being the latest to slam the Nagpur-born cricketer for mistakes during India's recent tour of South Africa.
“In Test cricket if you lose moments, you lose the game. Rohit made mistakes in both Tests and while it cost us massively in the first game, thankfully Siraj had given allowance for the second Test. Siraj bowling just one over when Markram was scoring and the lead swelled to 60 was a mistake,” Sanjay Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo.
“Rohit Sharma is still among the last of the old-school Test batters. Only he can tell us how much Test cricket he wants to play. I think if he wants to extend his Test career, there will be no competition. Virat Kohli I feel will play as long as possible and thankfully for us. This tour in tough conditions just the difference between him and the next best Test batter India has at least until Rishabh Pant is back,” Sanjay Manjrekar added.
Sanjay Manjrekar is not the only former Team India cricketer to question Rohit Sharma's on-field tactics during the Test series against South Africa.
Previously, India great Ravi Shastri blasted his leadership in India's first Test defeat to the Proteas in Centurion.
Ravi Shastri was particularly furious with Rohit Sharma employing Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur immediately after Lunch in South Africa's first innings at the SuperSport Park, allowing the hosts to take control of the proceedings on the pitch.
“On any pecking order, these two (Shardul and Prasidh) would have been the last to start the proceedings (after lunch). That's something that we've had a discussion multiple times when I was the coach. And more often than not we decided to go with the best two bowlers at the start of the session,” the ex-India all-rounder said on Star Sports.
Rohit Sharma's inclusion as captain in India's squad for the Afghanistan series angered former opening batter, Aakash Chopra.
“When you want to go back to your seniors, what is Rahul's mistake? If you are making the team based on the last T20 World Cup performance, both Rohit and Rahul didn't do well. Both are in the same boat,” Aakash Chopra commented on his YouTube channel.
“After that, both have done well, if we see the last World Cup, the ODI one. Then both names should have been there. Rahul even keeps and bats down the order now. So you could have played him there as well. However, Rahul isn't there but Rohit is. Virat Kohli is there. You weren't looking to keep him for the last one year,” he pointed out.
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