the former India Opener Akash Chopra raised questions Virat Kohli Resting for the upcoming white ball tour of West Indies. Kohli, who is going through a lean patch with the bat, was rested for the three-match ODI and five-match T20I series against the Windies, which raised several eyebrows. Many former cricketers and critics feel that the best way to return to form is to play more matches as they are not happy to rest Kohli at a time when he is not at his best.
Chopra joined the group of players to question the selection policy as he is not sure whether Kohli has requested to rest or the selectors have asked him to rest.
Read also: ‘India Mein Wo Selector Paida Nahi Hua Jo Virat Ko Drop Kar Sake’
“When you picked the ODI team, you didn’t pick the T20I team. The biggest buzz at that time was that there might be some concern about Virat’s injury. But when you didn’t have to name Virat Kohli at all, even though he has played the 2nd ODI, either he has asked for rest, that’s another thing, you don’t know if he has asked for rest or has been told to manage his injury or workload. Take rest because of,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
The former India opener insisted that Kohli hasn’t played much international cricket after the 2021 T20 World Cup as he has been constantly rested by the selectors to manage his workload.
“How much cricket has Virat Kohli played or missed after T20” World Cup 2021, he honestly hasn’t played much cricket. He was rested for the three-match T20I series against New Zealand and the first Test against New Zealand, and then he was injured for the second Test against South Africa. He was rested for the third T20I against West Indies, was rested for the three-match series against Sri Lanka before the IPL, was not part of the South Africa T20I as he went for the Test match, the first ODI. were injured for. England and now he is missing the three-match ODI series and the five-match T20I series against the West Indies.
Although Kohli’s form has taken a beating in recent times, he had a stellar performance with the bat scoring just 12 runs in two matches in the T20I series against England. He also failed to convert a solid start into a big total in the second ODI and was dismissed for 16. Earlier, he had also flopped in the rescheduled fifth Test against England at Edgbaston.
Read also | ‘No harm if you say Virat Kohli has been rested as a mark of his respect’
The batting maverick also had an IPL season where he scored 341 runs in 16 matches at an average of 22.73. He faced a lot of criticism for his strike rate – 115.99 in IPL 2022 as many cricket critics and fans have raised doubts about his place in India’s 2022 T20 World Cup squad.
Chopra further suggested that it would be great if the upcoming break against West Indies would be the last for Kohli as he needs to play more matches to get back in form.
“Looks like he is missing a lot of cricket. Not that he is in great form. It’s an extended break, I hope it’s the last one because if you keep playing you will get runs. If you stop, the story gets stuck, after that the wagon will find it difficult to pick up the pace again.”
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