Vengsarkar lashed out at the selectors for resting Kohli for WI series.
Former Indian cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar questioned Indian selectors for resting Virat Kohli for the West Indies tour. He believes that if the right-hander is out of form then he should play as many games as possible to gain confidence for the T20 World Cup 2022.
Kohli has been going through a dry spell with the bat for a while now. Having scored his last international ton in 2019, his struggle for runs has become dire, to say the least of late, as the half-centuries have also dried up.
Kohli, who used to make headlines almost every day with his heroics, is now receiving a lot of flak and many have even started to question his place in the Indian side.
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After a short break post IPL, many expected Kohli to do well on the tour of England, where he played one Test, two T20Is and two ODIs, but his story remained the same as he registered a series of low scores to invite more trouble.
Kohli has now again been rested for the whole tour of the West Indies. Many were against this decision as they felt that the right-hander needs to play as many games as possible to return to form ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Dilip Vengsarkar lashed out at selectors for resting Kohli for the West Indies series. He said that if the former Indian skipper is in their scheme for the T20 World Cup 2022, he should play as many games as possible.
“I don’t understand why the Indian selectors have rested him for the West Indies series. If he is in their scheme of things for the T20 World Cup in Australia, he should play as many games as possible to get his form and confidence back. That would help him," Dilip Vengsarkar said.
Vengsarkar pointed out that resting a player of Kohli’s calibre sends out the wrong signal as he will not have any good innings behind him ahead of the World Cup. He highlighted that a player should play as many games as possible when not in form.
“Resting him sends a wrong signal because if he is going to Australia, then he will go without really big scores behind him. That would worry him as well. I always feel that when you are not scoring runs, it’s important to play as many matches as possible and spend time in the middle, and get back among the runs. This game is all about confidence," he said.
It remains to be seen if Kohli will be back for the Zimbabwe series or not.
(Khaleej Times inputs)