Many reports suggested that selectors wanted to send Kohli to Zimbabwe to regain his form.
Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria slammed BCCI for resting Virat Kohli for the ODI series against Zimbabwe. Calling it an injustice, he said it was a great opportunity for the right-hander to regain his form.
BCCI on Saturday (30th July) named the squad for the three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe, which will be played from August 18-22.
The squad will be led by Shikhar Dhawan and is pretty similar to the ODI squad that played against West Indies. The likes of Deepak Chahar and Washington Sundar have returned to the team whereas Kuldeep Yadav has also found himself in the team along with Rahul Tripathi, who received his maiden ODI call-up.
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However, one name that wasn’t there and surprised many was of Kohli’s. It was expected that the former Indian skipper would go to Zimbabwe as many reports suggested that the selectors are keen to send the 33-year-old to regain his form.
Kohli’s name not being there didn’t go well with many including the former Pakistani cricketer.
Speaking on his YouTube channel about India's squad announcement, Danish Kaneria said that Kohli should have played against Zimbabwe. He lashed out at BCCI, saying that they are only considering the right-hander for major tournaments and it’s an injustice for him.
“Virat Kohli should have played in this series. Does BCCI think that he should only feature in major tournaments? But if he fails there, then once again there would be talks about his lack of form. I think that is an injustice for Virat Kohli," he said.
Kaneria said that BCCI should be very clear about how they want to handle him and if they rested him for the West Indies series, he should’ve been in Zimbabwe.
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He highlighted that had Kohli played against Zimbabwe he could’ve found his form and added that he might now also get dropped from the Asia Cup squad as well.
"You have to be very clear with how you want to handle him. While he was rested for the entire West Indies tour, he surely should have been there for the Zimbabwe series. He could have found his form in the 50-over games and then played the Asia Cup. But it seems now that he might be dropped for the Asia Cup as well," he said.
Kohli is now likely to play in the Asia Cup 2022. BCCI would be hoping that the right-hander returns to form and plays an important role for the team in the tournament.