Birmingham: After a successful win in the last game, India has secured the T20 series against England with a lead of 2-0 on Saturday.
Things haven’t changed for India batter Virat Kohli. Virat was added to the squad by replacing in-form Deepak Hooda. Kohli was dismissed by Richard Gleeson in the second T20 game and had to take the long walk back to the pavilion after scoring just one run.
As the countdown for T20 World Cup begins, India is yet to come up with its best playing XI pair. Continuous shuffle in the batting order and captaincy in the past few series have made the task all the more difficult for the Indian coach and support staff.
Virat hasn’t been able to score a hundred in 76 international innings across all the formats. While fans and experts continue to show faith in the Indian batter, skipper Rohit Sharma has some tough calls to make.
Veteran Cricketer Ajay Jadeja during a conversation with Sony Sports said that he will not pick Virat Kohli in his best playing XI for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Jadeja clarified that he will be left out of the World Cup team not because of his lack of hundreds but due to a shift in the batting mindset of the team. He added that “It depends on whom you want to play. I feel you have a choice and it’s a tough one to make. If I had to pick a T20 side, Virat probably won’t be there.”
Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer earlier in an interview also pointed out concerns over Kohli current performance and his chances of making it to the T20 World Cup’s playing XI. Talking to ESPNcricinfo, he said that “His form will be taken into consideration, you know his IPL-strike rate has not been great, he has not been in the best of form. And Deepak Hooda will give you an option of bowling so that will be taken into consideration.”
Virat Kohli has few matches to redeem himself and get back in his usual form ahead of the T20 World Cup scheduled later this year in Australia.