Virat Kohli Picture Credit: BCCI
Former India skipper Virat Kohli is going through a rough patch. The legendary cricketer has been failing to convert his starts into big score at the apex level. From 2019 series against Bangladesh on Indian soil, Virat Kohli has failed to score single century which raised many eyeballs. To add to his worry, Virat Kohli is now not even in top 10 Test player rankings. In lieu of this, it has been reported that if Virat Kohli's rough patch continues further, he might not be automatic choice for selection.
According to the reports, Virat Kohli's T20I future will depend upon how he performs in the two T20Is and ODIs against England over the next 10 days. The Indian team management and selectors are not clear about fitting the former skipper in the T20I middle-order. With the likes of Deepak Hooda, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav also in the mix, it certainly makes a little difficult for Virat Kohli to be an automatic choice if he fails to contribute with the bat.
The three-match T20I series against England is scheduled to start on 7th July with remaining two games being played on 9th & 10th July. The ODI series will commence on 12th July. Further, Virat Kohli has been rested for 1st T20I series as well as ODI series against West Indies. This means, all Virat Kohli has for now is - 5 matches to prove his calibre again.
It will be interesting to see if the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) actually plans to take this step as it is unlikely to be taken in best spirit by the fans and might not be best for Indian cricket at this stage where T20 World Cup is just around the corner. India would need experienced players in their side and Virat Kohli adds lot to the leadership group as well.