Sandeep Patil questions the exclusion of Virat Kohli from Asia Cup squad

Virat Kohli has been fresh off the disappointing end of the UK tour as India were beaten 4-1 in the five-match Test series. Despite the loss, Kohli had an impressive outing in the series as he was the highest scorer between both the teams. Hence, it came as a surprise when he was overlooked for the upcoming Asia Cup as BCCI selectors opted to give the 29-year old some rest to prevent a burnout.

And former Indian selector Sandeep Patil has questioned the absence of the skipper from India’s Asia Cup squad. Although Patil agreed that the workload of players would need monitoring he could not fathom why Kohli was overlooked for such a crucial tournament that involved a game against arch-rivals, Pakistan.

“I do agree that players’ workload should be taken into account but when it comes to India-Pakistan matches – in which the cricket-loving people of India get so emotionally and sentimentally involved – it makes it difficult to understand why such a decision was made. In fact, it is not just the fans, even players and board officials of both the countries feel very strongly about this one big match-up.

“I don’t blame Virat Kohli but my question again is that there are thirty plus players under contract for the BCCI and all of them play equal number of matches and share equal amount of workload, then why single out Virat Kohli,” Patil wrote in his column the Quint.

Indian opener, Rohit Sharma, has been slated to lead the Indian side in Kohli’s absence and would surely be under pressure to guide the Men in Blue to a victory as the captain but also to perform with the bat. Patil further added that India are taking a big risk by handing the responsibilities of a big tournament like Asia Cup to an inexperienced captain like Sharma.

"Rohit now has a big task ahead of him get the team together, get the balance right and pick the right combination. But he does not have time in his hand, he has to act fast. What mistakes like not preparing well can result in, we experienced during the England tour. Every day, every game brings new challenges to the captain and players," Patil wrote.