Former BCCI chief selector and India captain Dilip Vengsarkar wished the best for India batter Virat Kohli for the upcoming Asia Cup 2022 and also said that he hopes he hits a century in the Men in Blue’s first game on August 28 against rivals Pakistan.
Kohli goes into the tournament on the back of a break from cricket, something he had taken after the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) as well, and is looking to regain the form that saw him dominate world cricket.
However, he still hasn’t scored a century since November 2019 and is stuck on 70 international centuries only. His form has dwindled badly in the last year or so and everyone from fans to cricket experts hopes that this break will help the ace batter rejuvenate and come back strong.
Former captain Dilip Vengsarkar has said that he had met Kohli when the latter was training in Mumbai before leaving for the UAE for the Asia Cup.
“Virat Kohli is one of the best players in the world and I am a huge fan. Unfortunately, he hasn’t scored runs since the last IPL and has failed miserably. I think his lean patch is going far too long," said Vengsarkar.
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But the former India captain was optimistic that Kohli will return to form and asserted that the right-hander remained a great player and that he hopes he can score a century against Pakistan, whom India faces on Sunday in their tournament opener.
This match will be Kohli’s 100th T20I match and he will become only the second player after Ross Taylor to appear in 100 matches in all three international formats. He is also yet to score a century in T20Is.
“He is a great player. I hope he scores a hundred against Pakistan it is very important. I am sure he has prepared well. I just met him in BKC, he was practising indoors and he looked lean and fit, absolutely raring to go,” said Vengsarkar.
He also called the Indian squad for the Asia Cup a strong one, especially with the bowling attack they have in addition to a strong batting lineup.
“I would say that India has fantastic bench strength because if you see at IPL, they have discovered a lot of pace bowlers. There are plenty of options now as far as fast bowling and good spinners are concerned. I think we won’t be missing anybody [like Jasprit Bumrah] for that matter,” said Vengsarkar.
(Khaleej Times inputs)
