Pains me to see Virat Kohli go through such a long gap without a century, reveals Kapil Dev

India recently played out a 2-2 draw in a five-match T20I series against South Africa. Many senior players were rested for the series including Virat Kohli who has been out of touch for a long time. Kohli last scored an international century in November 2019 and has been searching for a hundred since then. His form in the IPL 2022 was also disappointing and the Indian team will rely on him to score some runs in the rescheduled Test against England. 

Kapil Dev has stated that it is painful to see Kohli struggling like this and going through a lengthy century drought. 

"It pains me to see such a big player go through this a long gap (with regards to a century). He is like a hero to us. We never thought we would witness a player whom we can compare to Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, and Virender Sehwag. But then they came, and forced us to compare, and now since he hasn't for the last two years, it is bothering me and all of us," Kapil said on Uncut.

Kohli has been often crticised in recent times for his form and the modes of dismissal outside off. Many former cricketers have suggested Kohli to take a break from international cricket to regain his composure and focus. Kapil Dev is of the opinion that only performance can keep others quiet.

"I haven't played cricket as much as Virat Kohli. But sometimes you may not have played enough cricket but you can look to figure things out. Either that, or we just cannot criticise such great players. We have played cricket and we understand the game and after that, they have to improve their thought process, not ours,” he explained.

If you prove us wrong, we will like it. If you don't score runs, we feel there is some fault. We just see one thing and that's your performance. And if the performance is not there, don't expect people to stay quiet. Your bat and your performance should speak, nothing else.”