IND vs ENG 2022 | Players no longer dropped but rested for poor form, vexes Venkatesh Prasad

Venkatesh Prasad has become the latest figure to comment on Virat Kohli’s extended run of poor form, siding against India’s decision to keep him in the team. There have been a growing number of voices in the international arena which have opined that it’s time for the talisman to be dropped from the Indian lineup, given Kohli’s inability to rack up any runs of late. The 33-year-old has not scored an international century since November 2019 and has just 43 runs in his last four innings for the Men in Blue.

The former pacer took the examples of some great names in the past, who were treated the tough way by the management for lack of consistency,

“There was a time when you were out of form, you would be dropped irrespective of reputation. Sourav, Sehwag, Yuvraj, Zaheer, and Bhajji all have been dropped when not in form. They have gone back to domestic cricket, scored runs and staged a comeback," tweeted Prasad.

The norm in recent times has been to give senior players like Kohli rest for the occasional series, in the hope that reduced burden would generate performance. He recently was rested for the first T20I against England and is again scheduled to stay back when the Men in Blue visit the Caribbean for ODIs later this month. Prasad believes the approach isn’t right considering the young talent that is knocking on the doors.

“The yardsticks seem to have changed drastically now, where there is rest for being out of form. This is no way to progress. There is so much talent in the country and cannot play on reputation. One of India’s greatest match-winner, Anil Kumble sat out on so many occasions, need actions for the larger good," he added.

Virat Kohli is set to feature next in the upcoming three-match ODI series versus England and will be hoping to get some good scores to tone down the growing criticism.