Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria has shared his opinion on recent reports regarding Virat Kohli not be part of the Indian team for this year’s ICC T20 World Cup. Apparently, the national selection committee is not very interested in having the former captain in the team for the biggest event in the West Indies and the United States of America.
According to media reports, the selectors are not willing to select him because he could not meet the team’s needs in the shortest format. The decision was left to chief selector Ajit Agarkar.
Earlier this year, he returned to the T20I team after an absence of over a year. He was chosen for the home series against Afghanistan. Before the start of the series, the selectors reportedly told him to shift focus from him to the T20s. Virat Kohli tried to play aggressively but couldn’t score much, posting scores of 29 and 0.
The Telegraph reported that Virat Kohli will be in the World Cup fray only if he enjoys a superlative campaign in the upcoming IPL 2024. The report also added that the selectors are not convinced that Kohli will be effective on the slow wickets of the Caribbean.
“It is also believed that the slow wickets of the West Indies would not suit him. “The selectors have been toying with the idea for some time now and there has been nothing to suggest a change of plans,” the report states.
Danish Kaneria reacts:
Reacting to the news about Virat Kohli, Denmark’s Kaneria has expressed his surprise and said that the veteran batsman should be in the Indian squad. The former spinner insisted that India is yet to reach the stage where he can look beyond his former captain. Kaneria further stated that Kohli can groom the youngsters as well.
“How can you ignore him (Virat)? He should be in the Indian team. He has been scoring runs, it is not time to look beyond Kohli, it is time to have Kohli in your team who can also groom the youngsters. India are doing quite well and Kohli should be in the Indian team, there is no doubt about it.” Kaneria told IANS.
“How can you ignore him (Virat)? He should be in the Indian team. He has been scoring runs, it’s not time to look beyond Kohli, it’s time to have Kohli in your team, who can groom the youngsters too. India is doing quite well and Kohli should be… pic.twitter.com/0Fg09pGeKk
– IANS (@ians_india) March 13, 2024