- Wednesday, March 12, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
For former India captain Virat Kohli, the upcoming Asia Cup tournament in the United Arab Emirates will be a key affair. The 33-year-old has been part of only one international tour after the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 which was in England and in that, he had a forgettable run across all three formats.
Kohli, who is going through a prolonged dull phase with the bat, missed the tours of the West Indies and Zimbabwe and is not set for a return to the international side for the Asia Cup T20 tournament starting August 27. India’s first fixture is against arch-rivals Pakistan on August 28 and speculation is rife over how he should approach the game.
Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria has warned Kohli in the run-up to the Asia Cup amid the star batter’s absence in international games and India finding back-up options.
Speaking to India Today, Kaneria slammed Kohli for missing a number of international assignments which he thought would have helped the Indian batter to return to form. He said Kohli should have skipped a few IPL matches instead and play in the international games that he missed.
“The only thing is Virat Kohli is struggling and the time period has gone too far. It’s like three years and all the dilemma. After the 2021 T20 World Cup, he lost his captaincy (in ODIs) and then the board issues and statements came in the media. Too much happened. I think he needs to focus more on cricket, on his batting and if he wants to play for a few more years he needs to perform.” Kanerial, who has played 87 T20 matches in his career but no T20 internationals, said.
“I think he has done wrong by missing international matches. He should have skipped some IPL games but should not have skipped international cricket because international cricket could have brought him back into the form. The five T20Is against West Indies were crucial for him and he should have come up and played in that series.
“Lack of match practice could impact his performance (at Asia Cup). He hasn’t played after the England series. Maybe he could have played domestic cricket in England to get his form back. He will be coming fresh now at Asia Cup. From there we have to see whether he will be able to perform or not. It will be a big pressured game for him. I’m hoping for him to come and put on a big show on a big day with big runs.”
Kaneria felt Kohli’s name is making rounds as the fringe players are coming to party each time they are getting an opportunity and that is making the competition with the team intense.
“Why is Virat’s name coming up? It is because there are a bunch of cricketers coming. India is thinking of making a second national team and playing them at the international level. They have Suryakumar (Yadav), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rahul Tripathi and KL Rahul coming back from injury. So many players to fit in and everybody is performing so well,” he said.
