Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra believes Virat Kohli will be the first middle-order pick in India’s squad for the T20 World Cup despite his form. However, Kohli is back in the Indian squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2022 after taking a break and he will hope to be at the top of his game in the tournament as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said: “The truth is that many runs have not come from his bat but the player is mighty. Virat Kohli’s numbers are really underwhelming, not only by his standards, but even if you see the industry standards, these numbers are quite ordinary. He has played just four T20Is in almost 10 months, in which he scored a total of 80 runs at an average of 20 and a strike rate of 129. But if you play only four matches in 10 months, there is nothing to read.”
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Virat Kohli has also played just a couple of T20Is apiece against the West Indies and England this year. Although he did score a fifty against the Windies, he could only manage a total of 29 runs in his other three innings as well.
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“IPL numbers – once again it was a middling IPL, it was a poor IPL based on his standards. He played 16 matches in all – 341 runs at an average of 22.8 and a strike rate of 116. It is not that the strike rate is high and the average is low or vice versa. But six matches in the Asia Cup and six more T20Is after that and then the World Cup, this is where the flight must take off. Virat Kohli will remain on this list at No. 1. God forbid, I don’t even want to say what will happen if the Asia Cup is not good. I hope it will not be bad and after that there will be no discussion on his name,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
