Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar backed out-of-form Virat Kohli, saying that it was too early to worry about Kohli’s place in India's squad for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. Gavaskar admitted that while Kohli is going through a lean patch with the bat, Rohit Sharma and other players have struggled to perform as well.
Kohli's place in the T20 side is being questioned repeatedly by the experts, including former greats like Kapil Dev and Virender Sehwag, although skipper Rohit Sharma has firmly backed his long-time colleague.
"See, I cannot understand that when Rohit Sharma does not score runs no one talks about it. It is the same with other players as well. There is a saying that form is temporary, class is temperament. See, the kind of template they are adopting (in T20Is) where they have to swing the bat from ball one, you will succeed and fail," Gavaskar told Sports Tak.
"We have a good selection committee which is thinking about it. I think there is enough time (more than two months) to announce the squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022. There will be several competitive Asian countries participating in the event. You will have to pick your team keeping in mind the form of a player. There is no need to panic yet and we need to give them some time,” the 73-year-old added.
Gavaskar believes that the ODI format is a chance for Virat Kohli to regain his form. However, as per the latest reports, Kohli is likely to miss the first ODI against England due to a groin injury.
ormer India captain Kapil Dev's remark on Virat Kohli created quite a stir in world cricket. Amid Kohli's poor returns with the bat, Kapil, in a recent interview, opined that if a bowler with the pedigree of Ravichandran Ashwin could be dropped from the Test line-up then so can be Kohli. However, former India selector Sarandeep Singh on Monday, came up with a reply to Kapil Dev's remark.
In the absence of Kohli in the last two T20I series - against South Africa and Ireland - Deepak Hooda performed impressively as a top-order batter which sparked debate over the need for Kohli in the Indian line-up. He impressed the selectors with a sensational ton in Ireland and scored a quick-fire 33 in the first T20I against England. However, he lost his spot to Kohli, who made a return to the Indian side after a small break, but was dismissed for just 1 in the second T20I.
India star batter Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma on Monday slammed the statements about the former skipper being excluded from the upcoming T20 World Cup.
His remarks came after cricket legend Kapil Dev stated that Kohli will need to perform better and if the spinner Ravichandran Ashwin could be dropped from the Test squad, even Virat could be dropped from the T20I squad.
According to some reports, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) could be having the veteran sit out on the bench during the ICC World T20I 2022, which will take place in Australia in October this year.
"I find these statements to be funny. You should look at the records of those people who are making such comments. As you are talking about the T20 format, where Virat's average is 50 plus, his strike rate is 140, what else do you expect from a player to do?" Rajkumar told ANI.
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