“You can’t just go by reputation” – Kapil Dev questions Kohli’s place in T20I side
“You can’t just go by reputation” – Kapil Dev questions Kohli’s place in T20I side. Kapil Dev, India’s former captain and a great all-rounder, has said that his country should provide more playing time to players who are currently in form rather than those who have a larger reputation.
The decline in Virat Kohli’s performance across all three forms over the past several years has been a major cause for concern. In his absence, players like Deepak Hooda, who plays an explosive brand of cricket, have excelled in the shortest format.
Hooda got a hundred on the tour of Ireland and 33 runs in the first Twenty20 International against England. While India grabbed a commanding 2-0 series lead, he was unable to maintain his spot at No. 3 as Kohli returned to the side. First-time bowler Richard Gleeson got Kohli out for a score of 1.
‘A true game-changer
Shreyas Iyer, among others, has made a compelling case to be included in India’s middle-order during the past year.
The following is what Kapil Dev said in response to a question from ABP News regarding Kohli’s current standing in the Indian Twenty20 International setup: “When you have a wide variety of options to choose from, you should give more consideration to playing players who are in good form at the moment. You can’t simply judge someone based on their reputation; rather, you need to look at how well they are doing right now. Even if you have a history of success as a player, it is not a given that you will be given additional opportunities. This is true even if you have been victorious in only one of your last five matches.”
Dev continued by saying that if a bowler with the pedigree of Ravichandran Ashwin could be left out of the Test team, then Virat Kohli could also be left out of the team. [Citation needed] Ashwin did not participate in a single one of India’s matches against England in the five-game Test series that was contested between the two countries.
Kapil’s response to the situation was as follows: “If your No. 1 batter can be dropped from the Test team, so can the No. 2 Test bowler in the world, Ashwin.”
Kapil is confident that the Indian team will benefit in the long run from the increased level of competition for slots on the team as they scale up their preparations for the 2022 Men’s Twenty20 World Cup, which will be held in Australia. India will serve as the host nation for the competition.
“If he is not contributing what he should be to the effort/endeavor, you won’t be able to keep these young men away for too much longer. I sincerely hope that there will be a battle for spots that will be competitive, and I believe that the younger players ought to aim to outplay Kohli. Kohli needs to continually remind himself, “sure, there was a time when I was a huge player, but I need to perform like that No. 1 player again,” in order for him to be successful in his career. The fact that this is a challenge for the team, despite the fact that it is not a very difficult problem, is nevertheless a challenge in and of itself.” This statement was stated by him as the conclusion.