(Aug 07), Virat Kohli scored 24 and 14 in the opening two ODIs despite struggling against spinners on the turning track in Sri Lanka.
After failing to score in the first two One-Day Internationals (ODIs) against Sri Lanka, Virat Kohli came under scrutiny once more. After declaring his retirement from Twenty20 international cricket in June, Kohli returned to the Indian team for the One international series against Sri Lanka. However, things have not gone as planned for him. After losing the second ODI on Sunday, India is now 0-1 down in the series. The batting maestro struggled against spinners on the turning track in Sri Lanka, scoring 24 and 14. This is Kohli’s first series with Gautam Gambhir as his new head coach.
Former Pakistani cricketer Basit Ali expressed his surprise at seeing a player of Kohli’s caliber get out in back-to-back matches against spin, believing the Indian star was ill-prepared going into the series.
“The best batsman in the world, Virat Kohli, has been out LBW twice. He is a great batsman. If it were to happen to Iyer or Dube, it would make sense, but Virat Kohli is Virat Kohli. On his YouTube channel, Basit stated, “This indicates that he is not in practice.”
Wanindu Hasaranga dismissed Kohli in the first match, and on Sunday, his replacement, Jeffrey Vandersay, defeated him. Kohli was declared LBW in both matches.
Basit added that KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, who did not play in the T20I series, showed up for the ODI matches on short notice without having practised.
“This didn’t seem to be the world’s most dominant batting order. Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, in my opinion, haven’t even practiced. “These individuals have not had any experience,” he continued.
‘Time for Pant, Parag to replace Iyer’
The former cricketer for Pakistan didn’t hold back in his criticism of Iyer for his consecutive batting collapses. He suggested to Gautam Gambhir that instead of playing an XI in the first two matches, he should have chosen Rishabh Pant or Riyan Parag.
“I’m not sure what Shreyas Iyer intends to do with these kinds of performances. For Rishabh Pant, Riyan Parag, and Rinku Singh, I believe the time has come. For Gautam Gambhir, the 50-over domestic tournament in India will be crucial because he will need to select some players from there. The results in the Champions Trophy won’t be too good if India selects players solely on the basis of their reputation, he continued.
Wednesday’s third and final series match will take place at R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. India is hoping to make a comeback and square the three-match series.
