Virat Kohli needs to play more matches to find form, says ex-India batter – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Virat Kohli’s lack of runs and his constant absence from different series has become a hot topic of debate. The former India captain has not been able to score a century across any format over the last three years. And, his struggles at the crease have even led to discussions over his place in the Indian side.

Kohli, who has been rested for the ongoing West Indies tour, could only score 11 and 20 in the fifth and final Test in Edgbaston against England. He was no better in the T20I series.

His bad form continued in the T20I series where could only score only 12 runs across two innings. In the ODIs that followed, Kohli scored 17 and 16 in the two matches in England. He kept getting out to deliveries outside the off stump.

Kohli will be part of the side for the Asia Cup and former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believes that the right-hander should have played every game possible. “As far as numbers are concerned, Virat Kohli has played just four T20Is – two against West Indies and a couple against England. If you look at the last two years, he’s not played a lot of International cricket,” Manjrekar said on SPORTS18’s show – Sports Over The Top.

Manjrekar also said that playing in as many matches as possible would have been better for Kohli and the team management could have spoken to him about it.

Manjrekar was impressed with Bhuvneshwar Kumar who has been very successful for India in the shortest format in the recent past. “He has bounced back superbly and is a certainty to make the T20 world cup squad. And he said, ‘The more I bowl, the more I get my rhythm’,” said Manjrekar.

India will take part in the Asia Cup and a number of T20I series lined up before the T20 World Cup that will take place later this year in Australia.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.