Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has come out to defend his teammate Virat Kohli, who has been going through a rough patch in his career for the last couple of years. Kohli scored just one and eleven in the two matches he played in the recently concluded T20I series against England. With the ICC T20I World Cup 2022 around the corner, his form has become a cause of worry for the Indian team.
Virat Kohli looked in good touch on Sunday in the second T20I against England. He slammed a boundary and a magnificent six while at the crease. However, the 34-year-old once again failed to make it big. He fell to David Willey while trying to slap a wide-length delivery, but hit it straight to the short extra cover fielder.
Virat Kohli’s form has drawn criticism from former cricketers questioning his spot in the Indian team. However, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has defended his teammate. Speaking post-match, Rohit Sharma expressed that Kohli that the team backs their players instead of focusing on the outside noise. He said,
“They (experts) are seeing from outside, they don’t know what’s happening inside the team. We have a thought process, we make the team, we debate and discuss it, and think a lot about it. The players (we pick) are backed, they are given opportunities. People on the outside don’t know about it. So it’s more important about what’s happening within our team, that’s important for me.”
Rohit Sharma opens up about Virat Kohli's continuous failure with the bat.@ImRo45 @imVkohli #ViratKohli #RohitSharmađ” #ENGvIND
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— RevSportz (@RevSportz) July 10, 2022
Form goes up and down for everyone: Rohit Sharma
Virat Kohli has a great record overall in the T20 format for India. He averages over 50, scoring 3308 runs in ninety-nine games at a strike rate of 137.66. Indian skipper Rohit Sharma expressed that Kohli has consistently done well for India in the past. He stated that the Indian team is backing Virat Kohli’s quality.
“Also, if you are talking about form, it goes up and down for everyone. The quality of the player doesn’t go bad. We should always keep in mind when such comments are passed around. We’re backing that quality. It’s happened with me, it’s happened with XYZ. There’s nothing new. When a player has done well so consistently, then 1-2 bad series, it [his contribution] shouldn’t be forgotten.”
The Indian skipper also expressed that the fans and experts might not understand but the team knows the importance of backing a player like Virat Kohli. Talking about the T20Is, India defeated England 2-1 in the three-match series.
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