Picture Credit: Twitter
All eyes will be on Virat Kohli as soon as India's rescheduled fifth Test match against England starts on July 1. Even in a practice match, Kohli is being watched not only by his fans back home in India but even by others worldwide. While the English fans would hope his lean patch continues a little longer so that he does not score against the Three Lions, the Indians would be eager to have him in full flow with the bat.
From what one has seen of Kohli in the 4-day practice game so far, he has looked in great nick, especially in the second innings where he has already scored a half-century. Moreover, he has played some glorious strokes and seems to be in control of his shots. Two of the shots that stood out on Day 3 were the six over off-spinner R Sai Kishore early on in his innings and the uppercut he timed for six off Jasprit Bumrah.
WATCH Kohli's shot against Bumrah here:
Earlier, Pakistan's Ahmed Shehzad made a comment about Kohli saying that the ex-India captain's career took off because he had the support of MS Dhoni. However, he pointed out the same is not the case in his country as people do not give that confidence.
"I have said this before and I will say it again, Kohli’s career picked off amazingly because he found MS Dhoni but unfortunately, here in Pakistan, your own people cannot stand your success," he told Cricket Pakistan in an interview.
“Our own senior players and ex-cricketers cannot digest seeing someone succeed in the cricketing world, which is unfortunate for Pakistan cricket,” he added.
Shehzad also stressed the fact that despite not being in the best of form, the Indian team management has been patient with Kohli and has given him opportunities.
"Kohli’s been struggling for form for the past two years, I was cast aside after two matches. I was told to perform in the Faisalabad tournament and I was the highest score there but still I was not handed another chance," Shehzad, once touted as the next Kohli, said.