Who will blink first? Will it be BCCI or Virat Kohli? Kohli T20 batsman is playing from his memory but it is now clear that his methods are not working well enough for him in this short duration high impact game. Nor is it allowing the Indian team to make the most of its resources. 20 or 35 are coming, but not at a strike-rate of 150 (it was 102 plus against Pakistan on Sunday). So can Kohli be dropped from the T20 World Cup squad? Not even in your imagination, even if he is not scoring runs at a dangerous pace. But can Kohli continue to play for India in this format even after the T20 World Cup in Australia? Well, even if the people in the decision-making positions know the answer, they won’t pronounce it.
I’m still here #Virat Kohli pic.twitter.com/w0yF8prXup– Knife. (@PrimeKohli) 29 August 2022
It is a question that has been roaming the corridors of Indian cricket since the ‘Desert Debacle’ last year, when India were prematurely out of the T20 World Cup. This was Kohli’s last tournament as India’s T20 captain and he then gave up captaincy of a format thinking it would help him reduce his workload and relieve him of the burden of leading the team across formats. ‘No regrets, the move didn’t work out the way he envisioned and he was later dropped from the ODI leadership and the wise man read the signals and surrendered his ‘virtual arm-band’ in a format where its numbers were unprecedented. ,
_ Fantastic shots of @imVkohli
Comment your favorite! #Virat Kohli_ pic.twitter.com/P2CJJb00n9— Peacock (@133_AT_Hobart) 29 August 2022
Kohli recently opened up about his recent struggles with mental health issues in a fresh candid interview with ‘Star Sports’ but a case of burn-out cannot be ruled out. 464 international matches by the age of 33 is huge and adds 15 seasons to the high-pressure Indian Premier League season, where he has not only been a batting mainstay of his franchise (IPL), but also its biggest brand. He only has so much band-width and he only admitted that there was a period when he was not enjoying the game.
Rate these shots of King Kohli out of 10#Virat Kohli_ pic.twitter.com/Q8WFCmyCSj— tribute (fb_) (@kingkohli28) 29 August 2022
In five T20Is in 2022, his scores are 17, 52, 1, 11 and 35. If we exclude the low score, his 17 came off 13 balls, he took 41 for his 52 and 34 for 35. What is India Fifties are not required in every game, but 35 runs in 20-22 balls or 20 runs in 10 balls can be scored even though the effect is greater on the quotient in terms of amount of runs.
Between 6 and 14 overs when the slow bowler is working, he can hardly even maintain a strike-rate of 100 and these are cold hard statistical facts. There is a saying in the discussion room about Kohli’s status as the No. 3 batsman in T20 cricket, but it is understood that the BCCI cannot address the issue until the end of the T20 World Cup.
Perhaps, the easiest route would be if Kohli decides to take an indefinite break from T20s, focusing on the 50-over format, where India have to play 38 Tests in the World Cup and the next FTP cycle to play at home. However, if nothing happens from Kohli’s side, it is likely that Chetan Sharma and his team of national selectors (provided they get a possible extension at the AGM) will have to work out a road map with head coach Rahul Dravid and NCA chief VVS Laxman. Will have to do step by step process.
This happened with Sachin Tendulkar (in ODIs), Sourav Ganguly (in all formats), Rahul Dravid (white ball before the final storm in 2011), Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag. There is no reason why this cannot happen to Kohli. But perhaps either the top BCCI officials or selectors can openly discuss their shortest format’s future before or after the T20 World Cup.