Asia Cup 2022: ‘Your captain had just got out and it was a nothing shot’- Gambhir slams Kohli for his dismissal

Kohli made 35 runs on his return to Indian team after a break.

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir was not happy with the way ace batter Virat Kohli got out in India's Asia Cup 2022 opener against Pakistan on August 28 in Dubai. India managed a tough 5-wicket win over the archrivals, which came mostly thanks to Hardik Pandya’s all-around show.

Thanks to Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s four and Hardik Pandya’s three wickets, India was successful in keeping Pakistan to 147 runs despite Mohammad Rizwan’s 43. India started off poorly in the chase with KL Rahul making a duck and Rohit Sharma falling for 12 runs to Mohammad Nawaz.

Virat Kohli, who was playing his 100^th T20I, looked in good touch for his 35 in 34 balls, when he decided to hit Nawaz in the air over long-off, but only managed to mishit the shot and was caught by Iftikhar Ahmed on the boundary.

It was then a crucial 52-run stand between Ravindra Jadeja (35) and Hardik Pandya (33*) which helped India cross the finish line in the last over, with Pandya hitting a six to win the match by 5 wickets.

Asia Cup 2022: ‘Even if there were 10 fielders outside the circle, I would have hit’, Hardik Pandya on his match-winning six

After the match, Gautam Gambhir analyzed the Indian innings and was critical of the way Virat Kohli got out, soon after his captain Rohit Sharma had gotten out on a tough pitch to bat on.

"He will be extremely disappointed because Rohit Sharma's wicket had just fallen and after that if you play a shot like that, it is good a youngster did not play that shot. There would have been a lot of criticism if a youngster had played that kind of shot," said Gambhir in a discussion on Star Sports.

"I am sure the number of runs he has scored in international cricket, when he sees this shot he will tell himself that the shot was not required. You played 34 balls and scored 35 runs, your captain had just gotten out, if you had built your innings a little more, things might have become easier," he added.

Gambhir described Kohli's hit as a "nothing" shot, especially when one is playing the fast-paced 20-over format.

"It is T20 cricket, you think at times that you should back your instincts and you did that, but it is a frustrating shot because it was a nothing shot. If you were looking to hit a six and had gotten out, there is no problem with that, because you are trying to play a big shot.

Here neither did you try to hit a six nor did you find a gap. Literally, it was a nothing shot, probably that is why he will be even more disappointed," Gambhir elaborated.

India will next face Hong Kong on August 31^st in their final group match.