'If Selectors Rested Virat Kohli To Give Him Respect Then There's No Harm In That': Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev's earlier statement on Virat Kohli -- 'if Ashwin can be dropped from India's Test team, then so can be Virat Kohli' -- had garnered widespread reaction from present and ex-cricketers.

Former India skipper Virat Kohli

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New Delhi: 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev has weighed in on the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) announced 18-member squad for India vs West Indies T20 series. The squad announcement by the apex board on Thursday revealed senior players Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested for the series. The former Indian skipper, Kapil Dev, believes if selectors have rested a big player like Kohli to give him respect, then that is fine.

Kapil Dev's earlier statement on Virat Kohli -- 'if Ashwin can be dropped from India's Test team, then so can be Virat Kohli' -- had garnered widespread reaction from present and ex-cricketers, including all-format India skipper Rohit Sharma.

"I can't say a big player like Virat Kohli should be dropped. He is a very big player. If you have said that he has been rested to give him respect then there's no harm in that," the 1983 World Cup-winning captain told ABP News.

"The most important part is how to bring such a player back in form? He's not an ordinary cricketer. He should get more practice and play more matches to get his form back. I don't think there's any player in this world who is bigger than Kohli in T20s but when you are not doing well, the selectors can take their call. My thinking is that if anybody is not doing well then he can be rested or dropped," Kapil added.

Kapil said players like Virat shouldn't take this long to get back in form.

"It's not like India haven't played without Virat in the last five to six years, but I want such a player to be back in form. Yes, he's been dropped or rested but there's still a lot of cricket left in him. And he has to create the path for that. Maybe play Ranji Trophy or score runs anywhere. His confidence needs to be back. This is the difference between a great and a good player. A great player like him shouldn't take so much time to get back in form. He has to fight with himself and get things in order. Yes, it's a bit of a concern that he is taking so much time to get back in form, a great player doesn't take this long.

"I don't have any problems if he is dropped or rested but I want him to get back in form. One innings can change a great player's fortune but when will that come, we don't know. We are waiting for two years for that," he added.