Kapil Dev Raised Question On Virat Kohli’s Indispensability In T20Is
Kapil Dev and Virat Kohli (Image Source; Twitter)
Virat Kohli is currently with his Indian teammates in England as India is playing the three-match T20I series against England. Even though, he was rested from the first T20I after playing that one-off Test match against England earlier this week. Virat is scheduled to play the next two matches of the series.
Since 2019, he is not able to find his best form as he failed to score a hundred so far in any of the formats. But, still, Virat is getting his chances in the team to make a comeback before this year’s mega-event in Australia. Now, former World cup winning India captain, Kapil Dev raised questions about the selection of Kohli despite his poor run of form.
“Virat is not batting at a level which we have seen him do over the years.” – Kapil Dev
Speaking to a news channel, Kapil Dev said that Virat is currently looking like a shadow of his old self. He also raised a question regarding the Team’s decision to drop Ravichandran Ashwin in the Test. He said: “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,”
Former India captain also added that Virat is not batting at his best level and thus, he wants to see new players, giving him a healthy competition for places in the team. “Currently, 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 consistently, then you can’t keep the performing youngsters out of the team. I want a healthy competition for places in the team in a positive sense that these youngsters should try and outperform Kohli,” Kapil Dev added.
Virat is also being tipped to get rested from the upcoming T20I series against West Indies. Former India legend said that it should be considered as a ‘dropped’ rather than a ‘rest’. “Play in-form players when you have loads of options. You can’t just go by reputation but you have to look for the 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,” he concluded.
