Virat Kohli may have done great service to the nation, having made more than 23,000 runs in international cricket. But calls for his exclusion from India's T20 side have been growing louder by the day with the legendary captain Kapil Dev latest to join the chorus for his ouster from Team India in the shortest format of the game.
Until last November, Virat Kohli was India's all-format captain, and dropping him from any of the three formats would have been unimaginable. But in sports, things can change quickly and that's what seems to be happening with him as his long barren spell with the bat has shown no signs of ending.
In the recently concluded fifth Test match against England at Edgbaston, Virat Kohli looked good but failed to convert his starts in both innings. The former India captain managed to score a total of 31 runs in his two essays in Birmingham, as his long lean patch with the bat continued.
While he was dismissed for 11 in the first innings as he played on to the stumps, in the second essay, Virat Kohli received a jaffa from England captain Ben Stokes, only to be sent back to the pavilion for 20. Unfortunately for Virat Kohli, he got starts but couldn’t convert them to big scores.
His form across all formats of the game has been a major worry for the Indian team with his last hundred in international cricket coming way back in November 2019 in the historic pink-ball Test against Bangladesh in Kolkata.
Before arriving in England, Virat Kohli participated in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and once again disappointed his fans, as he could only manage to score 341 runs at an underwhelming average of 22.73 in 16 games for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the elite T20 competition.
After seeing his latest figures, Kapil Dev is of the view that the chances of Virat Kohli being dropped from India's T20 setup have increased of late.
Stating the example of Ravichandran Ashwin's removal from India's Test side when he was the No.2 bowler in the world, Kapil Dev said that if one of the best spinners could be shown the door, so can be Virat Kohli.
“Yes, now the situation is such that you might be forced to bench Kohli from T20 playing eleven. If world No. 2 bowler Ashwin can be dropped from Test side then (once upon a time) world No. 1 batter can also be dropped,” Kapil Dev told ABP News.
“Virat is not batting at a level which we have seen him do over the years. He has made a name because of his performances but if he isn't performing, then you can't keep the performing youngsters out of the team. I want competition for places in team in a positive sense that these youngsters should try and outperform Virat,” Kapil Dev further said.
“You can call it rest and someone else will call it dropped. Every person will have his own view. Obviously, if selectors don't pick him (Kohli), then it could be because a big player isn't performing,” Kapil Dev observed.
“Play in-form players when you have loads of options,” said Kapil. “You can't just go by reputation but you have to look for current form. You can be an established player but that doesn't mean that you will be given chances even if you fail five games in a row.”
Earlier, two former India cricketers, namely Wasim Jaffer and Karsan Ghavri had echoed similar sentiments, saying that Virat Kohli's T20I future was uncertain.
“Kohli plays, there’s no doubt about it but his form will be taken into consideration. His IPL strike rate hasn’t been great. He’s not been in the best of forms. Deepak Hooda can give you an option with bowling so that will be taken into consideration but not straightaway. I’d say Kohli will get an opportunity to play a few matches and then probably selectors will take a call but I don’t think he’ll be a certainty because so many young players have done so well. In the last T20 World Cup, the strike rate, that approach, was questioned and I think we need to keep looking at the future,” Wasim Jaffer told ESPNCricinfo.
“I’m not gonna sit here and say ‘leave Kohli out’. I’d be wanting that if I was in the England side. It’s a big decision to make. India have got so many good players coming through their system but Kohli’s got to come in. What do they say, form is temporary, class is permanent,” Wasim Jaffer added.
“Virat Kohli is such a great player for India but unfortunately for the last two years, we have seen him getting caught behind or caught in the slips while chasing the delivery outside the off stump. He has to look at this and improve. He has to restrict those shots because if he keeps going like this and getting out and not getting runs, there comes a question mark – why is he not scoring?” Karsan Ghavri told Jagran TV.
“He has to prove his form in the current series. These days you can’t play for long riding on your name. Virat is a great player but only his name will not work. He has to perform and score runs. This is how it goes. Everybody understands that he is going through a rough patch and it happens with every player. He has the hunger for runs, hunger for success in his heart but his personal form is quite disappointing,” Karsan Ghavri signed off.
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