On Saturday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a second-string side for the white-ball series against Zimbabwe. While there were many interesting names in the squad announced by the BCCI, however, the absence of former Indian captain Virat Kohli has raised many eyebrows.
Virat Kohli Rested For The Zimbabwe Tour
Virat Kohli, who has been going through a rough patch with the bat for quite a long time now, was expected to play against minnows Zimbabwe in an experiment to get his form back.
Notably, Kohli was not a part of the ODI and T20I squads in the West Indies series. He had last featured in the two ODIs against England. The Indian selectors once again did not give any official reason for the absence of Kohli from the squad.
BCCI’s decision to rest Virat Kohli for the upcoming white-ball series against Zimbabwe hasn’t gone down well with many. Former Pakistani cricketer Danish Kaneria seems to be among those who were not pleased to see India announcing a Virat Kohli-less squad for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe.
Danish Kaneria Made A Big Statement On Kohli
Speaking on his YouTube channel about India’s squad announcement, Danish Kaneria opined that Kohli would have returned to form if the veteran batter was named in the ODI squad for the Zimbabwe series. Speaking about the same, he said:
“Virat Kohli should have played in this series. Does BCCI think that he should only feature in major tournaments? But if he fails there, then once again there would be talks about his lack of form. I think that is an injustice for Virat Kohli,”
Virat Kohli is expected to make his international return in the 2022 edition of the Asia Cup. However, Kaneria feels that the BCCI might drop Kohli for the Asia Cup as well. He said
“You have to be very clear with how you want to handle him. While he was rested for the entire West Indies tour, he surely should have been there for the Zimbabwe series. He could have found his form in the 50-over games and then played the Asia Cup. But it seems now that he might be dropped for the Asia Cup as well,”
Talking about India’s squad for the upcoming series against Zimbabwe, Shikhar Dhawan, who recently led the Indian cricket team in the 3-match ODI series against West Indies, will helm the responsibility of captaincy in this series as well. Besides Virat Kohli, marquee players like Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, and Hardik Pandya are also rested for the upcoming series.
Team India’s squad for 3 ODIs against Zimbabwe:
Shikhar Dhawan (Capt), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Mohd Siraj, Deepak Chahar.
#TeamIndia for 3 ODIs against Zimbabwe: Shikhar Dhawan (Capt), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Mohd Siraj, Deepak Chahar.
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 30, 2022
