The day before, when the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) announced the 15 member squad that will tour the Zimbabwean Republic, all eyes waited for Virat Kohli’s name to be a part of it. In vain though.
The squad that will see Shikhar Dhawan as the captain for his consecutive ODI tour does not feature Kohli’s name.
It is reported by PTI, that the decision of resting against Zimbabwe was the right-hander’s own, and not a part of BCCI’s plan.
One unnamed BCCI source quoted, “Virat had spoken to selectors that he would be available from the Asia Cup onwards. This is a two-week window after the Windies tour when they can rest.”
Fans are disappointed in Virat Kohli
The former Indian skipper last played an int’l game on 17 July, and the next one he plays is going to be in the Asia Cup which commences on August 27. Kohli is, as a result, having a rest of more than 40 days; a ‘rest’ that has now put the nation to unrest.
The majority of the Indian cricket followers have been of the opinion that this attitude from Virat Kohli isn’t going to help him. The frustrated fans have taken to Twitter to share their concerns about the same.
“How much rest does Virat need,” reads one of the Tweets while another hilariously terms Kohli as ‘restli’.
Nonetheless, there’s nothing hilarious about the unrest in India. Just that the nation is getting more and more concerned with every series that the swashbuckling batter misses. Since the 2021 T20 World Cup, Virat Kohli has missed six such international series. It all just adds up to the disappointment.
There’s the Asia Cup, and then more importantly, the 2022 T20 World Cup coming up. His form is crucial. However, he is yet to be anywhere near his best and has not been able to score a hundred ever since November 2019. Though Kohli was somewhat amongst the runs earlier, the situation got alarming during the latest limited overs tour of England where he accumulated just 45 runs across 4 innings.
This isn’t the Virat Kohli that the nation knows. The beast that smacks a ton every alternate game is the one it is habitual to.
There was this argument that a hundred in the three-ODI series against Zimbabwe may have helped Kohli get back to being that pre-2019 beast he deserves to be. Regardless, with him allegedly choosing to sit the tour out, that argument also goes to rest.