Can India afford to keep in-form youngsters away to accommodate Kohli?
Virat Kohli has been one of the prolific batsmen for India of all times. However the infamous slump in form has raised questions over his place in the Indian side from many experts.
It is not that Kohli is not batting well or is unable to time the ball well. His timing is still sublime but it is his shot selection and the way of getting out that has irked many.
Although skipper Rohit Sharma has backed Virat Kohli and coach Rahul Dravid has supported Kohli in his lean patch, the obvious question remains how long is the rope for Virat Kohli?
On the other hand, players like Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda who have got chances during Kohli's absence has time and again proved their mettle in the Indian side but has been given less match time due to the presence of Virat.
Deepak Hooda impressed with the limited chances in Ireland where he returned with a magnificent hundred in his name.
On the other hand, Suryakumar Yadav has time and again played those inpressive knocks at 3 and has brought up his maiden T20 Century batting at 4.
With Hardik Pandya regularly batting at 6, which leaves India with 5 specialist batsmen, can India still afford to wait for Virat Kohli to return in form?
Virat Kohli has been India's batting mainstay in the T20 Internationals and his form in World T20s has been nothing short of impressive. He is also currently the highest run getter for India in the T20s and was the highest run getter for India in the last 3 editions of T20 World Cup. But the fact that Virat accumulated a total pf 12 runs in the recently concluded series against England has raised a lot of questions on his selection in the Indian side.
Experts are of the opinion that India should give focus on current form over reputation as the T20 World Cup is knocking on the doors. Also the form and performance that players have exhibited in the absence of Virat Kohli it will be tough to keep them out of the playing Xi for a long time.
On the other hand, Virat Kohli has probably played his best T20 Cricket in Australia. The southpaw has scored 584 runs against Australia in T20I off 15 innings, with an average of 64.9 runs and a strike rate of an extraordinary 147.1. So dropping a player with such credentials ahead of the T20 World Cup will be a very bold move.
So it is a tough call for the selectors as well as the Team Management to find the perfect mix and plan accordingly whether they want to keep Virat in the mix or not. But one thing must be kept in mind, that even though “Form is Temporary, Class is Permanent.”
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