Veteran India batter Virat Kohli’s prolonged lean patch has become the talk of the town. The owner of 70 international centuries, Kohli’s last ton came way back in November 2019 and he is enduring a tough time in the ongoing England tour.
Kohli could manage only 11 and 20 in rescheduled fifth Test at Edgbaston and aggregated only 12 runs in his two innings in T20Is. While the right-hander didn’t feature in the first ODI due to a groin injury, he made only 16 runs on his comeback in the second ODI at Lord’s on Thursday (July 14).
As a result, Kohli has come under the scanner and questions have been raised over his place in the national side by former cricketers, including Kapil Dev and Virender Sehwag.
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Amid the criticism, former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar has extended his support towards Kohli, saying that the former India skipper should just focus on his batting.
"I am hearing a lot of criticism about Virat Kohli. It is being said that he should be dropped. Virat Kohli is finished, this is right. There is nothing more left in his career, this is also right and he would not be able to do anything more in his career, this is right, these type of things other people are saying to me. I told them, Virat Kohli is the greatest player, in the last 10 years, if there has been any greatest player, it is Virat. He has 1-2 bad years, he still has scored runs, just the century has not come," Akhtar said on his YouTube channel.
Recently, India’s World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev argued that if senior spinner R Ashwin can be axed from the Test team then why can’t Kohli be dropped from the T20I side.
"You are just humiliating the guy in the media, to discredit him is not right, I do not know how can one talk about dropping him? Kapil Dev is my senior; I respect him and he has his own opinion. He is a legend; he can voice his opinion. A great cricketer can talk like that. Virat Kohli has 70 centuries and only a great player can score as many runs," Shoaib added.
Further talking about Kohli, Akhtar said: "Virat should focus on his batting, if you do not perform, there is nothing wrong. All these things are happening, these are happening so that you become a bigger cricketer. You should not be scared; one should realise that they are up against a tough cricketer. It is important that you stay at the wicket, the more you stay in the middle, the better it will become for you. You should away from social media and not pay attention to the criticism."
Virat Kohli will be next seen in action during the third ODI against England on July 17 and would be hoping to return to form. The 33-year-old has been rested from the upcoming ODI and T20I series against West Indies, beginning July 22.
