Virat Kohli’s T20I place in threat after Shreyas Iyer unfolds his heroics against Sri Lanka.
One of the greats of modern-day game, Virat Kohli’s name in the field of cricket is nothing short of a fairytale story. The batsman who showed his batting flamboyance, every now and then, has been ruling the bowlers for a decade now. But, the recent past hasn’t been memorable for the former Indian skipper.
Though the decade that passed will always be known for the on-field brilliance of Virat Kohli, his magical wristy shots and his run-scoring capabilities, but the last two years or so hasn’t been like they used to for the Indian batter.
Since the last couple of years, Virat has failed big time to convert his double figures into three-digit scores which would certainly have bothered him as much as it bother his fans and supporters. Though he is scoring half-centuries, but his quest to score a century and celebrate the innings has been seen missing for a while now.
Unfortunately, India’s T20 World Cup 2021 outing wasn’t a great one as the team that was, at once, foreseen to lift its second title, failed to conquer the Pakistan and Kiwi challenge. Indian top-order misfired against the opposition and attracted a lot of criticism from fans and people all around the world.
Since the T20 World Cup 2021, nothing has gone Virat’s way. He left his T20I captaincy and was then forced to leave the ODI leadership by the BCCI. Soon to give another jolt to the fans, Virat dropped a bombshell and revealed that he will no longer lead the test side as well.
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It can be clearly noted that Virat has not played a lot of T20I matches since he stepped down from the T20I captaincy. His last T20I assignment came against West Indies in the first two matches and then he was given a breather to get refreshed by the Indian cricket board.
India recently played three matches T20I series against Sri Lanka and the hosts comprehensively whitewashed the island nation. During the series, it was a big question ahead of the Indian management to fill Virat Kohli’s place in the team at number three position.
The Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma, gave an opportunity to Shreyas Iyer and he not only left a strong impression for himself but also posed a dangerous threat to Virat Kohli’s place in the T20I team.
Playing at number 3, Shreyas Iyer smacked three consecutive half-centuries as he mustered a gigantic 204 runs from mere three innings. On top of that, Iyer remained unbeaten in the entire series and whacked the opposition with a colossal strike rate of 174.
As India looks to build a strong squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, Shreyas Iyer has done his work by performing consistently. Iyer performing exceedingly well will, for once, force the management to look at him as a strong contender for 3rd position, if Virat Kohli misfires in the coming matches.
With Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, he has tested a lot of players in the team and has shown way out to the non-performing players. He wants to create an impactful team that can survive the outbreak after the team gets reduced with two or three early wickets. With a new approach forward, it is very much a possibility to see Virat warming the benches and Shreyas getting a nod if he fails to score runs for the team in coming fixtures.
However, for now, Virat will remain in the side as one of India’s most important batsmen and player in the leadership group. Rohit likes of closely coordinate with Virat while he leads the Indian team.
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