Following another disappointing knock during India’s win over England in the second T20I, Virat Kohli was deemed a liability for the team by former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria, who felt the former India captain should either perform or perish.
The Rohit Sharma-led side defeated hosts England with some comfort in a 49-run win at the Edgbaston, after winning the first game by 50-run at the same venue, to clinch the three-match series. However, Kohli, who was rested for the first game, scored just 1 run before falling prey to veteran debutant Richard Gleeson. This was back-to-back third disappointing innings on the tour for Kohli, who earlier scored 20 and 11 runs respectively in the rescheduled fifth Test match.
“When the big guns were out, even then the team was performing, the youngsters were doing the job. The big player should understand that he is becoming a liability to the team. Virat Kohli has become a liability now. So either he needs to give up his place or make a comeback before the T20 World Cup,” said Kaneria on his YouTube channel.
The 41-year-old former leg spinner minced no words in his criticism for the star Indian batter, who hasn’t scored a hundred since 2019 and had an off-colour IPL 2022 as well.
“Where is Virat Kohli? What has happened to him? Where have the runs disappeared? I think he has gone into the box. Many people are saying that he will score big soon, but I have been telling this since the IPL season’s beginning that he should have left the IPL early,” said Kaneria.
The corruption-tainted former cricketer also felt that Kohli wasted his time by playing the IPL with the T20 World Cup scheduled later in the year.
“He could have taken rest by skipping IPL but he wasted the time. Now is the time to build India’s squad for T20 World Cup 2022. He has become a burden for the team. It does not matter which team it is, India or Pakistan, it is not that if they play without big names, the teams won’t perform well,” said Kaneria.
Earlier, Kohli faced criticism from Indian legend Kapil Dev, who suggested if R Ashwin can be dropped from the team then why not the misfiring batter.
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