Kapil Dev questions Kohli's place in T20I team: Here's why
Virat Kohli is undergoing a poor run of form. He has been century less across international formats for over two years. Lately, he managed scores of 11 and 20 in the rescheduled Test against England. Kohli had a shoddy return in IPL 2022 prior. Former India cricketer Kapil Dev fears Kohli could be left out of India's squad for the T20 World Cup.
A long resting period for Kohli
Kohli, who was rested for the first T20I against England, has been relaxed for the upcoming ODIs on the West Indies tour. He didn't participate in the five-match T20Is against SA and later in the two-match series in Ireland.
Why does this story matter?
Kohli had stupendous returns in T20Is played last year, given he averaged over 70.00. However, he has played just two T20Is this year with the last outing back in February. Add to that, he had an abysmal show in IPL 2022. The right-hander's form has taken a beating across formats which could be a major concern for India heading into the T20 World Cup.
Here's what Kapil Dev said
"Yes, now the situation is such that you might be forced to bench Kohli from T20 playing eleven. If world number two bowler Ashwin can be dropped from Test side then (once) world number one batter can also be dropped," Kapil told ABP News.
Kohli recorded three ducks in IPL 2022
Kohli didn't have a desirable run as per his standards in IPL 2022. He could fetch only 341 runs at 22.73. He recorded three ducks in the season, joint-most in 2022 with KL Rahul, Rashid Khan, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, and Anuj Rawat.
An unwanted record for Kohli
In April, Kohli played his 100th competitive game without scoring a century. The tally included 17 Tests, 21 ODIs, 25 T20Is, and 37 IPL matches. His last century came in 2019 during the Day/Night Test against Bangladesh in Kolkata. He had scored 136 off 194 during India's first innings. Since then, Kohli has failed to touch the three-digit figure in competitive cricket.
Kohli averages 27.25 in Tests since January 2020
Since the start of 2020, Kohli averages less than 50 in T20Is (47.35), less than 40 in ODIs (39), and less than 30 in Tests (27.25). He also fared poorly in India's recently concluded Test series against England. Kohli scored just 249 runs across nine innings against the Three Lions. Since November 2019, he has scored just 1,008 runs in 34 Test innings.
Kohli has been century-less in last 21 ODIs
Kohli's last ODI ton was against West Indies in August 2019. He had slammed 114* off 99 deliveries. He hasn't brought up a hundred in 50 overs since then. The run machine has averaged a mediocre 37.66 in this period. Kohli has 791 runs from 21 ODIs (10 fifties). He has registered a duck on three occasions.
