Supporters of two Indian cricket legends – Virat Kohli and Kapil Dev took pot shots at each other after the 1983 World Cup-winning captain called for the Delhi-born cricketer's sacking from the national team.
The war of words between the fans of Virat Kohli and Kapil Dev escalated further after the 33-year-old cricketer failed once again in the second T20I against England in Birmingham on Saturday.
Virat Kohli fell for 1 with England fast bowler Richard Gleeson delivering a double-wicket maiden in the seventh over of the Indian essay in the second T20I in Birmingham. Gleeson’s other wicket was Rishabh Pant who opened the innings for India for the first time in T20Is.
Virat Kohli on the other hand, lost his wicket as he tried to hit the ball over the deep midwicket boundary but failed to get enough power behind his shot. He was eventually caught by David Malan in the backward point region as the ball took the outer edge of his bat and went up in the air.
Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar have some serious obsession with Virat Kohli. https://t.co/S583DBOBbP
— Saurabh Singh (@singh7saurabh) July 9, 2022
https://twitter.com/Tendulkrar/status/1545783566205800448
Rare picture of Kapil dev wasting his time 😕 #KapilDev #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/eeeL0nlPsL
— Surender Kumar (@Surender_10K) July 9, 2022
Those who were Trolling Kapil Dev for His Comments on #ViratKohli
Would've Realized How true it was!
Kohli's T20 career is over
Drop Him Give Chance to Youngsters like
Deepak Hooda, Rajat Patidar, Sanju Samson if You really want to win#T20WorldCup!#INDvsEND#INDvsENG#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/HYqlfq0kOq— MTvalluvan (@MTvalluvan) July 9, 2022
Kapil Dev was always a visionary. He had predicted in 2019 about Virat Kohli eyesight n late in picking lengths. Today he proved right again. It’s an Indian team n not private club to celebrate only on past laurels. It’s a performance game. That’s why Hooda should have played. 😏 https://t.co/zKyuMOPxyF
— that guy (@memeolo27959291) July 9, 2022
Exposing Kapil Dev's overrated ODI Career [ A thread ]
— A l V Y (@NotASoccerF4n) July 9, 2022
“Trying hard to not say something about Kapil Dev because well I respect him. Hopefully he doesn't go down the Gavaskar and Ganguly line,” a Virat Kohli fan said on Twitter.
“I freaking don’t understand why people are putting question on his T20I selection? Even the like of Kapil Dev? He’s averaged 70+ last year and hasn't done anything wrong. Such a big disrespect to a person who’s served us big time,” a second argued.
“Virat has performed for the last 10 years in T20is, his recent numbers in T20is are good too..why are there talks of dropping him by ex cricketers, news sites. If you really want to drop someone to accommodate xyz drop your captain who performs once in a blue moon,” a third posted on the micro-blogging platform.
“Did not expect that from Kapil Dev. Anyway just cannot compare Apple to Oranges. Virat is a front line top order batsman who can bat 20 overs if needed whereas in Ashwin's case he can bowl maximum 4 overs from 20 overs. Prime reason cannot be compared. Fielding another aspect,” a fourth pointed out.
Kapil Dev's admirers immediately hit back at Virat Kohli's fans and backed his remarks about the out-of-form India batter.
“Kapil Dev is cent percent right. Why is Virat Kohli being given so much chance even after failing. I feel bad for Deepak Hooda after playing such a great game he has been dropped for literally a Tuk Tuk. This is beyond pathetic level,” a Kapil Dev backer said.
“Being a fan of Virat Kohli and obsessing over him is justified. But disrespecting a living legend like Kapil Dev for his completely factual comments, is downright absurd and petulant. Grow Up “kids” and go watch 83!” a Twitter user commented.
“Kapil Dev is right. Kohli's been in the team only for his past reputation and his chicken head fans. Kohli should have been dropped about a year back.. many youngsters have potential to replace this empty vessel that just sounds more for a year,” another added.
Earlier, Kapil Dev made strong remarks against Virat Kohli which led to a storm on social media.
“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.”
Virat Kohli would have another chance to resurrect his fledging T20I career on Sunday when the Rohit Sharma-led Team India will square-off against England in the final match of the three-match series.
India currently lead the series 2-0, having comfortably won the first and the second games on Thursday and Saturday.
Hardik Pandya was the hero in the first match, having smashed a quick-fire fifty before taking four wickets in the England innings to earn the Man of the Match award.
In the second game, Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar turned out to be the key players for India as slammed 46 not out off 29 deliveries, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar took 3/15 in three overs to secure a 49-run triumph in Birmingham.
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