India star batter Virat Kohli’s lean patch has become one of the most discussed topics these days in the cricket world.
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Kohli had failed to cross the 20-run mark across all of his last six innings (all formats) in the England tour last month. Then he was rested for West Indies series and further, he has also not been included in the Zimbabwe tour.
However, former India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel believes that Kohli will return to the squad for Asia Cup 2022 and there might be a possibility of Kohli opening the batting in the the tournament.
On Saturday, Patel stated that he believes Kohli will open when he returns.
“Not for one game only (Rishabh Pant opening). I’m sticking to my word. I think Virat Kohli will open in Asia Cup. I just feel he will,” said Patel.
Kohli was last seen as an opener in 2021 during a T20I against England, and so far he has played only eight matches as an opener in the shortest format (T20Is).
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In the recently concluded West Indies tour, ample of chances were given to the youngsters as Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Yuzvendra Chahal were rested for the series. However, the trio is expected to return to the team in the Asia Cup, slated to begin from August 27.
All eyes will be on Kohli as there will be a lot of expectations from him to score big after such a long rough patch in his international career.
Ahead of the Asia Cup and T20I World Cup, India team management have tried several players on various positions. In T20Is against West Indies, Suryakumar Yadav was given the chance to open the innings. While he didn’t perform well in the first couple of matches at a new position but then produced a match-winning performance in the third T20I with a 76-run knock off just 44 deliveries, taking India to a seven-wicket win.
Similarly, a lot of questions were raised about Shreyas Iyer’s form. He had a trouble with short ball throughout the tournament but in the fifth T20I, he scored 64 off 40 and took India to an impressive 188/7 which they went onto win by 88 runs.
Thus, in presence of several batters for the Asia Cup squad, it will be quite interesting to watch where Kohli will bat.
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