Kohli is going through an extended lean patch with the bat.
As Virat Kohli’s poor run of form continues, the debate over his place in the starting eleven for the upcoming T20 World Cup down under is getting more intense. India will tour West Indies later this month for a white-ball series, comprising three ODIs and three T20Is, and Virat Kohli's absence from the Indian line-up that was named for the tour has many people scratching their heads.
The move to rest the star batter for the West Indies tour has come amidst the debates surrounding Kohli's batting woes with many experts and former cricketers suggesting that if his downturn persists, he should be dropped from the T20I team.
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Earlier, former India captain Kapil Dev had stated that if the 33-year-old is not performing, he should not be included in the playing XI arguing that if someone of Ravichandran Ashwin’s caliber can be dropped from the Test team, Virat might well be subject to the same fate.
Most recently, former India pacer RP Singh questioned the decision to rest Virat, claiming that the idea of rest did not exist when he was playing.
"When a player is going through a bad patch, he won't ask for rest. He should play more games as taking rest won't help him return to form. The graph has gone down and will be up again only when you play regular matches. The luxury of taking rest isn't available for every player. When Pragyan (Ojha) and I were a part of the Indian team, there was no such thing as rest. No one asked if we wanted to rest... you either got selected or dropped," he told Cricbuzz.
"Even senior players didn't take rest before the T20 World Cup 2007 and that was because the format was new. A cricketer's playing days are limited and he eventually has to retire. Only if Virat has a niggle, then it's a right decision." he added.
In the 2nd ODI against England at Lords, Virat Kohli was dismissed for 16 as the Men in Blue suffered a massive 100-run defeat.
The series decider will be played at Old Trafford on Sunday (July 17).
(CRICBUZZ INPUTS)