Indian selectors recalled K.L. Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, and R. Ashwin for the three T20 Internationals in the West Indies, between July 29 and August 2. Rahul and Kuldeep have both recovered from injuries, and were expected to feature at some point. Ashwin’s inclusion is perhaps not as obvious, but it is indicative of the willingness of selectors to check out every possible option ahead of the T20 World Cup, starting this October in Australia.
The selectors also rested Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal – certainties for the T20 World Cup. None of that, however, made headlines, for they also rested Virat Kohli.
Since 2021, Kohli’s form in T20 cricket has taken a hit. One may argue that 380 runs at a strike rate of 132 in T20Is, while not great, is not terrible either. However, that strike rate is 11th out of 14 Indians who have scored 100 runs over the same period of time. His Indian Premier League (IPL) numbers over two seasons across this period – 746 runs at 118 – are worse.
Kohli had led India in last year’s T20 World Cup, but barely eight months after his resignation, there have been calls of dropping him from the T20I side. One can hardly blame his critics for that. The World Cup squad will feature six or seven specialist batters. There is little doubt that on form, Kohli is not among them.
Why, then, has Kohli been rested?
One likely theory is that he is not being considered for the T20I side at all, if not permanently then at least for some time. As some former cricketers have pointed out, perhaps it is time for him to find his lost touch in the grind of domestic cricket.
It is a fair call, but if this is indeed true, why the garb of resting?
Over the past few decades, Indian selectors have seldom dropped star cricketers. However, when they have left them out, they have seldom used the word ‘rested’. The word was never used when Kapil Dev was dropped in 1984/85 or Dilip Vengsarkar five years after him or Sourav Ganguly in 2005 or Rahul Dravid from the ODI side in 2007/08 or Ishant Sharma earlier this year.
Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, and Ashwin were left out because they did not fit into the team combinations for specific matches. Once again, the word ‘rested’ was never used. If a cricketer was actually rested or wanted a break themselves, it was mentioned specifically. M.S. Dhoni opted out of the Test series in Sri Lanka in 2008.
None of them was rested. The ambiguity began in 2019, when Dhoni kept missing one series after another with no explanation on whether the selectors had left him out or if he wanted a break. The confusion continued for about a year, until Dhoni announced retirement from international cricket. If Kohli has indeed been dropped – still a speculation, mind you – the tradition seems to have continued.
India do not have many T20 Internationals scheduled ahead of the World Cup. After the West Indies tour, the team will play in the Asia Cup T20 in Sri Lanka and host Australia for three T20Is. That may be sufficient, if the selectors have already made up their mind about picking (or leaving out) Kohli for the World Cup. In that case, they would select or drop irrespective of what he does in that brief window.
A second theory did the rounds all day Thursday. A groin strain had forced Kohli to skip the first ODI against England, at The Oval. Rumours of the BCCI allowing him to recuperate from the injury surfaced. That hypothesis took a hit when a fit Kohli was included in the XI for the second ODI, at Lord’s.
At this point, we are aware of three facts. Kohli is fit. He is not at his best form in the T20 format. And there is not much T20 cricket left before the World Cup. That, combined with the BCCI’s lack of transparency, makes the decision to rest Kohli come across as unusual.
Of course, this is not the first time in the recent past that Kohli has been rested – even if one excludes the Test match in South Africa and the ODI in England he missed due to injuries. Since last year’s T20 World Cup, he has missed the T20I series and a Test match against New Zealand; the third T20I against West Indies; and the entire T20I series against New Zealand and South Africa. However, all these were on home soil, where Indian selectors usually experiment more with team combinations.
Voices would not have been raised had Kohli been an automatic choice in the T20I side. International cricket is played in three formats and franchise-based T20 leagues occupy a chunk of the calendar. As a result, cricketers pick and choose their series. It is only natural for cricketers to request for time off, as Kohli himself has done in the past.
Unfortunately, out-of-form cricketers cannot opt for time off as easily without being criticised. Former Indian cricketers have already come forward with their usual ‘we had never opted out’ opinions, questioning the commitment of the current generation based on them sitting out of international series despite not missing IPL matches.
While there is little wrong in seeking rest, it cannot be denied that time is running out for Kohli with every batting failure as well as every missed match. New batting heroes have stepped up for India over the matches Kohli has missed. India’s rich talent pool means that many more are awaiting their chance, determined to prove their worth at the first opportunity.
It is, of course, likely that a cricketer of Kohli’s class will regain form through rigorous training. Cricketers often emphasise on match practice being the best form of practice, but each cricketer has their own way.
Kohli has been there, done that himself. After a torrid time against James Anderson on India’s 2014 tour of England (134 runs at 13.40), Kohli used to practise for hours in the nets, trying to develop muscle memory against balls pitched on or around the off stump. He responded with phenomenal numbers against England in India’s next two series, at home in 2016/17 (655 runs at 109.17) and in England in 2018 (593 runs at 59.30).
Maybe there will another hurrah for the great man, after all. However, as things stand now, the decision to rest Kohli seems counterintuitive.
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