The season of IPL 2022 has been a different one for ex-India skipper Virat Kohli, who stepped down from the captaincy of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) post IPL 2021.
Expected to bat freely without the burden of leadership on his shoulders, Kohli was looking forward to having a good run in IPL 2022. However, things did not work out in favor of the star batter who suffered 3 first-ball ducks during the tournament.
Former Indian left-arm spinner Murali Kartik came out in support of Virat Kohli. Backing him, he said that champion cricketers like Kohli can not be excluded from the Indian team during tournaments like the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022.
While speaking on CricChat Season 2 on ShareChat Audio Chatrooms, Kartik said, "You can't keep such players out of the squad for tournaments like the T20 World Cup because they have earned the right to be there for what they are and what they can do at the end moment."
Kohli had a great comeback as he went on to score a match-winning knock of 73 (54 balls) against the Gujarat Titans in RCB's last league match, after having managed to score only 236 runs in 13 games at an average of 19.67.
Kartik spoke about the importance of having experienced cricketers in the team along with newly emerged talented cricketers. He also said added decisions taken during an IPL auction exert a key role in how a team performs.
"They are the new boys, but the players and people involved have been present for a long time. They have handled the post before," Kartik said.
IPL 2022 has been a very different season where Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the two most successful IPL franchises with 9 IPL titles together ended the league at the last two positions, while the two new teams were Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants reached the playoffs comfortably.
Speaking further about how decisions taken during an IPL auction impact a team’s performance, Kartik said, "The auction plays a very important role and Gujarat Titans, Lucknow Super Giants and Rajasthan Royals did very well there. For example, Bumrah doesn't have consistent support in bowling. Super Kings' bowlers have performed well but overall, it's been difficult for them."
