If someone else was going through the rough patch which Virat Kohli is, he would have been dropped: Ex-India cricketer – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Virat Kohli is undergoing a lean patch across formats and the former India skipper is attracting criticism from all quarters at the moment. The recent outings in England, both in Test and limited overs, were far from ideal as Kohli ended the tour without a substantial contribution with the bat. There were signs of returning to form in the ODIs but Kohli couldn’t convert the promising starts in the two matches he played during the three-match series.

Kohli has received continuous support from the team management with both captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid putting their weight behind the star batsman on numerous occasions. Former India cricketer Syed Kirmani too feels Kohli will be unstoppable once he returns to form.

“Virat Kohli has loads of experience. He should be in the T20 World Cup squad. Once Kohli returns to form, he will be unstoppable. He could be a game-changer. A player with Kohli’s experience and abilities deserves to be in the World Cup squad,” Kirmani told Dainik Jagran.

Kirmani, however, pointed out that there is lot of competition in the Indian team at the moment and ” if someone else was going through the rough patch which Kohli is, he would have been dropped from the team by now”. The likes of Deepak Hooda and Suryakumar Yadav have done a stellar job in the opportunities they have received so far and it definitely looks like a happy headache for both the team management and selectors.

“There is a tough competition in the Indian team. Look, if someone else was going through the rough patch which Kohli is, he would have been dropped from the team by now. But I feel that an established player should be given the benefit of the doubt,” Kirmani, member of India’s 1983 World Cup squad, added.

The Indian cricket team next plays the West Indies in three ODIs and five T20Is. While Shikhar Dhawan will lead the ODI unit, Rohit Sharma, currently holidaying in the UK, will return to lead the T20I unit. Virat Kohli has been rested from the tour and will miss both the ODIs and T20Is.

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