Batting great Sunil Gavaskar has defended former India captain Virat Kohli who has been facing a lot of scrutiny for his lean patch with the bat. The batting maverick has not been at his best in recent times as he has been struggling to manufacture big runs in all three formats. Several former cricketers and fans have raised questions about Kohli’s place in India’s T20I playing XI.
However, Gavaskar feels that Kohli has been targeted more as compared to other players as he pointed out even skipper Rohit Sharma is going through a lean patch but nobody is questioning his place. Rohit has scored 182 runs in 9 T20Is this year at an average of 20.22 while he also had an underwhelming IPL season with the bat.
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Gavaskar said that players are bound to fail on some occasions while batting with the fearless approach that Team India is currently trying to embrace.
“I don’t understand why no one speaks out when Rohit Sharma or anyone else isn’t among the runs? The template that the team is using now of playing attacking cricket, you are bound to fail when it doesn’t come off. We have a good enough selection committee to think about this and take a call,” Gavaskar told SportsTak.
Gavaskar said that there is no hurry in judging the players for the T20 WC squad as India will play Asia Cup before the ICC tournament through which they can pick their best-suited squad.
“I still feel there are about two more months before you have to announce your T20 World Cup squad. There are good teams who will play in Asia Cup and you can decide your team based on the performance then. No need to jump the gun at the moment,” he said.
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On Kohli’s form, Gavaskar further said that the upcoming ODI series against England will help Kohli to get back to form.
“Yes, the ODI series has come at the right time for him. He can get a few overs to get set, and understand the conditions and whether there’s swing in the air or bounce in the pitch. So I think this is a great format for Kohli.”
Kohli was dismissed on 11 in the third T20I against England as he looked to attack the bowlers embracing India’s new batting approach.
“When your team has embraced this template of attacking cricket, maybe Kohli must have thought that he needs to get as many runs as possible in lesser deliveries so that it will be beneficial for both him and his team,” Gavaskar said.
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