Talismanic India batter Virat Kohli will return to action later this month during the Asia Cup. After competing against England in July, Virat Kohli was given a break by the BCCI from the tour of the West Indies and will not be a part of Team India in Zimbabwe where the Men in Blue will participate in three ODIs. Notably, The visit to the United Kingdom where India played a Test, three ODIs, and as many T20Is was Virat Kohli's only assignment since the Indian Premier League (IPL). The 33-year-old cricket star was earlier rested from the five-match T20Is series against South Africa at home. However, the Delhi-born batter was recalled for the continental tournament in the United Arab Emirates which will be a key competition for the Indians to assess their strengths and weaknesses. Ahead of the event in the Middle East, several former cricketers have been making their predictions about their favorite teams and players and former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria made a massive prediction on the ex-India captain.
Danish Kaneria's prophecy for Virat Kohli is that the Indian superstar will make loads of runs in the Asia Cup and the tournament will change the fortunes of the beleaguered batter forever.
While Danish Kaneria backed Virat Kohli to have a wonderful Asia Cup, he also issued a warning to the India batter that time was running out for him and he badly needed to deliver in the Asia Cup.
As per Danish Kaneria, many former cricketers already believed that Virat Kohli was a liability to the Indian team and that's why the onus was on him to prove them wrong.
“The Asia Cup will change Virat Kohli's career. The tournament is crucial for him to prolong his career and I feel he will come good. However, many former cricketers have said that Kohli is just heavy baggage on the team if he doesn't score runs. So he needs to think carefully about how he can make a comeback. This is because there are other dynamic batters like Iyer, Samson, and Gill waiting in the wings,” Danish Kaneria said on his YouTube channel.
Danish Kaneria also shared his opinion on Virat Kohli's batting position in the Asia Cup. According to the former Pakistan tweaker, Kohli should bat at No.4 instead of his customary one-down position as Suryakumar Yadav is in great form and should bat up the order. On the other hand, Virat should arrive at the crease after the fall of the second Indian wicket.
“Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul will open. But I would put Suryakumar Yadav at No. 3 and then followed by Kohli. Kohli will need some time to settle in and play carefully so I think he should bat at No.4,” Kaneria suggested.
Even Sri Lankan great Mahela Jayawardena echoed similar sentiments like Danish Kaneria as he backed Virat Kohli to find his mojo back during the Asia Cup in the UAE.
“It is unfortunate what Virat is going through right now at the moment, but he is a quality player,” Mahela Jayawardena Jayawardena told Sanjana Ganesan on The ICC Review.
“I believe Virat has the tools to come out of it (the form slump). He has done that in the past as well and I'm sure he'll come through this. Class is permanent and form is temporary,” Mahela Jayawardena added.
Virat Kohli has been going through an extended dry spell with the bat. During the recent tour of England, the former India captain managed to score just 76 runs in his six outings in a Test match, and two ODIs and T20Is each.
While he perished at scores of 11 and 20 in the rescheduled fifth and final Test against the Three Lions in Edgbaston, Virat Kohli was dismissed for 1 and 11 in the T20I games in Birmingham and Trent Bridge.
Though he missed the first clash of the ODI series because of a groin injury, he didn't succeed in changing his fortunes in the remaining two 50-over matches as he registered a total of 33 runs, making 16 and 17 at the Lord's and Old Trafford respectively.
Before that, Virat Kohli had a horror run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as he could score only 341 runs at a mediocre average of 22.73 in 16 games in the tournament.
Virat Kohli last made a century in any form of international cricket in the historic Pink-ball Test against Bangladesh in November 2019.
Since then, he has gone 78 consecutive knocks without a three-figure score on the international stage.
The Asia Cup will start with a blockbuster clash between India and Pakistan on August 27.
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