Former captain Virat Kohli returned as India announced a star-studded 15-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2022 on Monday (August 8). The former cricketer was last seen in action during the limited-overs series against England where he had a dismal campaign with below-par scores with the bat.
Kohli has copped a lot of criticism for his lean patch with the bat in the last few months. He has gone without scoring a century for almost three years now, with his last hundred coming in November 2019 against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Amid all these criticisms, Kohli gave the West Indies and Zimbabwe series a miss.
However, Virat Kohli has retuned to the side for the Asia Cup 2022, which gets underway on August 27. The talismanic batter will be desperate to hit the strides as the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 approaches closer.
Fans were excited to see their favourite batter back in the squad and are ongoing to see Virat Kohli return to form once again.
Here are some of the reactions:
https://twitter.com/primeKohli/status/1556669722006921216?s=20&t=OnLf0NtdoxZiuJbHAMv-ww
Can't wait to watch some Virat Kohli's special in Asia cup 2022. it will be a great news for Indian team and fans if he gets back and delivers in style before the big event,"The T20 World Cup" 🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/J7FIF6DAXk
— Akshat (@AkshatOM10) August 8, 2022
Get ready for this type of short and #ViratKohli𓃵 destruction in #AsiaCup2022 pic.twitter.com/NqpOWg3Z8E
— Prashant Jha (@Prashantjha64) August 9, 2022
King Virat Kohli is back in Blue & He is all set to fight for continental title. #AsiaCup2022
— Prashant Jha (@Prashantjha64) August 9, 2022
https://twitter.com/Cric_Monu07/status/1556868305331167232?s=20&t=OnLf0NtdoxZiuJbHAMv-ww
Virat Kohli is going to create history on 28th August, He will play his 100th T20I – Then Virat Kohli will become first Indian and 2nd player in the history to have played 100+ matches in all three formats.
— Subhash MeeNa (@GULLYCRICKET07) August 9, 2022
King is back #AsiaCup2022 #KingKohli back I pray🙇 for God @imVkohli #KingKohli
— Shankar Singh RWT (@Mr_Shankarsingh) August 9, 2022
Welcome back great virat kohli ☺️
— Saad Ur Rahman Khan 📿 (@SaadAbbasi00) August 8, 2022
RETRUN A KING KOHLI ❤💥 pic.twitter.com/vy1h8Bpazy
— Suraj Aher (@SurajAh3916) August 8, 2022
Kya Kohli Asia Cup me bhi apna 2019 se pahle wala jalwa bikher payenge …
— Mere Ram (@jayshreeeeraam) August 8, 2022
“He will be under pressure to perform” – Saba Karim on Virat Kohli
Former selector Saba Karim reckons with the T20 World Cup coming up later in the year, the Asia Cup would be crucial for Virat Kohli to return to form. Karim also said that he would have some competition for spots from Deepak Hooda and Shreyas Iyer.
“Asia Cup is a big tournament for Virat Kohli. A great chance to reinvent his form. The break is expected to benefit him because he is a great player who has played a lot of big innings. He has performed in T20 World Cup.
However, he will be under pressure to perform because of the youngsters like Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer or Rishabh Pant in the middle order. It’s great that the BCCI has backed the senior player in such a big tournament,” Saba Karim said to India News.
India will begin their defence of the Asia Cup against arch rivals Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on August 28.
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