Rohit Sharma has appealed to the media to stay quiet and not focus too much on Virat Kohli’s ‘poor form’ heading into the Twenty20 International Series.
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Virat Kohli has been constantly reminded of his ‘lean patch’ for the last couple of years. Ever since his last international century in 2019, Virat Kohli has struggled to reach the heights that made him the greatest of all time. His last Test century was in November 2019 while his last ODI ton was in August 2019. During the ODI series against the West Indies, he averaged just 8.26. In between his ‘lean patch’, he also lost the captaincy in all three formats. Virat Kohli stepped down as the T20I and IPL skipper after the end of the tournaments. Prior to the tour of South Africa, he was asked to step down as captain. After India lost the Test series vs South Africa, Virat Kohli stepped down as captain.
Rohit Sharma will be the full-time captain for the series and in his first series against the West Indies, India whitewashed them 3-0. In the pre-match press conference before the start of the first match at the Eden Gardens, Rohit Sharma offered his support to Virat Kohli and took a dig at the media.
Read – Virat Kohli Suffers Even More Embarrassment in ODI vs West Indies
“If you guys can keep quiet for a while, I think he’ll be alright. We don’t need to do too much talking from your side, then everything will be taken care of. He is in a great mental space from whatever I see of him. He has been part of this international team for more than a decade. If someone has spent that much time in international cricket, they know how to handle the pressure situations, the environment, everything. It all starts from you guys. If you guys can keep it quite for a bit, then everything will fall into place,” Rohit stated.
Virat Kohli has still averaged close to 48 in ODIs and 71 in T20Is during this two-year lean patch. These are excellent numbers but such is the high standard that he has achieved that the numbers mentioned are low.
Vikram Rathour, the Indian cricket team batting coach, also offered his support to Virat Kohli. “He’s batting really well in the nets and the kind of preparation he’s putting in. I’m certain that in one of these innings he will be back among runs,” Rathour said. The Twenty20 International series will be played entirely in Eden Gardens, Kolkata. There will be no fans allowed in the first match on February 16.
The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has requested the BCCI to get in spectators for the remaining two matches. In a statement issued by CAB, it said, “The BCCI has allowed only upper tier and hospitality boxes for sponsors and representatives for the first match. CAB will intimate all stakeholders once it receives feedback from the board.”
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