Former India skipper Virat Kohli was among the senior players to not be included in the Men in Blue’s squad for the upcoming T20 series against Sri Lanka, and Sanjay Manjrekar feels Kohli will ‘face pressure’ from other cricketers who will get opportunities in his place.
Manjrekar went on to say that the management might be looking to give Kohli more game time in the one-day format, especially with 2023 being a year of the ODI World Cup.
“Virat Kohli had a pretty good World Cup. I would have liked him to play as much international cricket as possible, just to be amongst the runs, hitting the ball virtually every week and be prepared for the match situation is a good thing. The thing is Virat Kohli will now constantly face pressure from others who are getting opportunities in his place,” Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo.
“We have seen what the young players have done like Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson when they’ve got the opportunity. So, yes, Virat Kohli is still very much in the plans after the World Cup he had and I’m sure he wants to keep being a member in the T20 side,” the 57-year-old added.
The former Mumbai batter opined that the one-day format was where Kohli had shown consistency over the years.
“Since this is 2023, the World Cup year, I guess India are looking to give him more one-day time and one-day cricket is a great format to get back into form. That is where Virat Kohli has shown he is an all-time great in the way he has played over the years, the consistency, and the match-winning ability.
“Test and one-day cricket has been his two greatest formats. So, somewhere, the selectors are looking at Kohli and saying, ‘Let’s get you to play more of 50-overs cricket,” Manjrekar continued.
Virat Kohli had earlier in the year ended his long wait for a 71st international century, scoring an unbeaten 122 against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup T20 tournament. He then went onto register four half-centuries in the T20 World Cup in Australia, where he ended up as the tournament’s highest run-getter with 296 runs from six matches.
Earlier in December, Kohli scored a century, a knock of 113, in the third ODI against Bangladesh in Chattogram.
The likes of Rahul Tripathi and Ruturaj Gaikwad were named in India’s T20I series against Sri Lanka in January, and Kohli, despite not being a part of the T20 series, remains a part of the ODI series to face Lankans at home.
The ODI World Cup 2023 will be held during October-November in India.
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