Danish Kaneria, a former Pakistani spinner, believes Virat Kohli must play well in the forthcoming Asia Cup if he hopes to make the T20 World Cup roster. While Kohli has been among the most reliable players over the past decade or so, his current run of bad luck has caused some to question if he still belongs in the Indian squad. Kaneria claimed that Kohli has the complete support of captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid and that the star batter would be required to justify the management’s faith in him.
Kaneria shared his thoughts on Virat Kohli on his Youtube channel, “ If Virat Kohli returns, everyone is expecting him to come back with a bang. If Kohli wants to be considered for the T20 World Cup, he will have to perform, either by hook or crook. You can’t have such huge baggage with the team and then benching him will also be incredibly tough. No doubt he has the support of Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid but he has to deliver.”
Kaneria believes that despite Virat’s track record of success, his recent slump might harm India’s chances of winning the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.
He further added, “Pakistan will hope that Kohli’s form slump continues because if he gets back his mojo, he will be dangerous.”
Virat Kohli will rejoin the Indian side for the game against Babar Azam and Company after an absence of more than five weeks. The former Indian captain didn’t travel on the West Indies white-ball trip and won’t go to Zimbabwe either, where India will play the hosts in three ODIs under KL Rahul’s captaincy.
India will want to settle the score this year in trying to make up for the humiliation they faced in Dubai. However, the two nations will also compete against one another in the Asia Cup T20 tournament before the contest in front of a packed MCG audience in the world cup. India will play Pakistan on August 28 in the opening round of the six-team event, which will begin on August 27 in the United Arab Emirates.
