Giving Virat Kohli a rest for West Indies tour definitely not unjustified

For a while, Virat Kohli has been in the firing line of the BCCI selectors owing to a lean patch across all formats. Many have echoed the same: perform or make way for the others. 

Nevertheless, the BCCI did not write anything about Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal – two other notable absentees from the West Indies tour – either in the release. Thus, let us not fall into the trap of any false assumptions.

There will always be ups and downs in a cricketer’s form but a player's quality will never fade away. We should always keep this in mind that there is a quality in certain players and we as a team back that quality. When someone is scoring consistently for so long, we can’t overlook his contribution if he is not scoring in one or two series or in one or two years. We know the importance of Virat Kohli. The experts have got all the right to talk about it but for us these things don’t matter."

Rohit Sharma on Virat Kohli (after England T20Is)

Adding to that, Deepak Hooda’s elevation to an excellent No. 3 with Lucknow Super Giants, and his recent success in Ireland as well as his brisk cameo against England in the first T20I, have made Kohli’s situation even worse. In fact, many have started believing that Kohli’s place in the next T20 World Cup in Australia later this year is in jeopardy. Who would have thought this could even be a topic of debate four months ago?

But what critics tend to forget is Kohli’s stats in T20Is, particularly in recent times. Since the start of 2020, he has batted 21 innings, scoring 675 runs at 136.09 with an average of 42.19. If one looks for his T20I numbers since 2021, the average increases to 47.5 and the strike rate stands at 131.94. How many are there to be brave enough to overlook these statistics and ask Kohli not to travel to Australia – a country where he traditionally carries confidence with his aggressive instincts.

Moreover, Kohli has represented India in 60 international matches across all three formats since 2020. Not one of his single teammates has played more than him during this period. One should understand the fact that sometimes managing a player’s workload becomes an issue, and non-stop cricket only makes a huge impact on their performance day in and day out.

The next T20 World Cup is not too far away. To get the best version of Kohli in there, the BCCI’s decision of giving Kohli a break was spot on. Yes, some may counter by pointing out that he can not pull off that much-anticipated ‘one match-defining knock’ if he does not play too often, but that is that. They should be aware of his current mental aspect as well.

If a group of experts makes a list of modern-day cricket greats from the last ten to twelve years, Kohli, despite not notching a single hundred for over 30 months, finds his name at the top. To be fair, a cricketer with that much rich calibre does not deserve the buzzing criticism, even in his darkest of times like the present.