Virat Kohli will return to action after a long break in the upcoming Asia Cup 2022, which gets underway on August 27 in the United Arab Emirates. The spotlight will be on the former Indian captain, who will look to find his form ahead of the much-awaited ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia scheduled to take place later this year.
Amid uncertainty with regards to his place in the team, former India batter Aakash Chopra feels that while Kohli is a phenomenal batter, he needs to score runs, especially with the global marquee event approaching thick and fast.
Virat Kohli has now gone without scoring a century for almost three years. His last hundred came in November 2019 against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Speaking on Star Sports, Aakash Chopra highlighted that Kohli has played only a handful of games in the shortest format and needs to hit the strides soon.
“As far as his (Virat Kohli) place in the Indian team in concerned, that question does not arise as of now. But there is no hiding from the fact that he needs to score runs. He has not played that much international cricket since the T20 World Cup last year. He has played just four T20Is since then,” Chopra said.
Virat Kohli was last seen in action during the all-format series against England. He was rested for the series against the West Indies and the ongoing three ODIs against Zimbabwe.
“Asia Cup after long break will be crucial for Virat Kohli” – Aakash Chopra
The cricketer-turned-commentator also said that the Asia Cup could be a make-or-break tournament for Kohli. Aakash Chopra added:
“He is a phenomenal player, perhaps one of the best the world has ever seen, but there comes a point where runs, contributions, and role play come into the picture. If you’re batting at no. 3 for India, it doesn’t matter who it is, you have to score runs. If you’re talking about team philosophy, with that perspective and the keeping the upcoming T20 World Cup in mind, this Asia Cup after long break will be crucial for Virat Kohli.”
India will kick off their Asia Cup 2022 campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on August 28 in Dubai.
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