New Delhi: Ex-India captain Virat Kohli has not been able to score a ton for the last two and a half years. Even in the ongoing T20 T20I series against England, Virat got out after scoring just one run in his comeback game. Kohli has been battling his poor form for a long time. Regarding the star batters' poor form, India's former World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev said that if a bowler of Ravichandran Ashwin's caliber can be dropped from the playing XI of India's Test team, then India might be forced to bench player like Virat. As Kohli's never-ending lean patch continues, it remains to be seen whether Kohli will get backing from BCCI or not.
Meanwhile, Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma has disagreed with Kapil Dev's idea, saying Kohli's 70 international tons is a testimony to his batting prowess.
"I do not support the statements made by Kapil Dev on Virat Kohli. Nothing big happened with Virat that such kind of statement has been issued. Why is there so much hurry with Virat, he has done so well for the country. Making 70 international centuries is not a small thing. I do not think the board will make a decision to have him sit on the bench," Rajkumar said to ANI.
Kapil Dev had asserted that he wants competition for places in the team in a positive sense. The veteran feels youngsters should try and outperform Virat.
"Yes, now the situation is such that you might be forced to bench Kohli from T20 playing eleven. If world No. 2 bowler Ashwin can be dropped from Test side then (once upon a time) world No. 1 batter can also be dropped," Kapil told ABP News.
"Virat is not batting at a level which we have seen him do over the years. He has made a name because of his performances but if he isn't performing, then you can't keep the performing youngsters out of the team.
"I want competition for places in the team in a positive sense that these youngsters should try and outperform Virat," said the legendary cricketer.