Cricket fans of India and Pakistan are eagerly waiting for 28th August 2022 as on that day, the cricket teams of both the nations will face each other in a match in the Asia Cup 2022 which will be played at Dubai International Stadium, UAE. Last time India and Pakistan clashed against each other it was in a match which was played in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 and India suffered a humiliating defeat by 10 wickets in that match.
The former Indian team skipper Virat Kohli will also make a comeback in the squad after getting rested for almost a month and he will certainly be under huge pressure to perform because if he fails in this tournament, the voices which are demanding his exclusion from the team will get stronger. Virat Kohli has been going through a rough patch for quite a long time, he hasn’t scored a century since 2019 and in the last few matches, though he got a steady start yet he wasn’t able to convert them in big scores.
Virat Kohli last played in the fifth rescheduled test match against England, he not only failed to perform in the game but he was slammed badly for his attitude and behaviour as well. He wasn’t able to perform well in the shorter formats also and many former Indian cricketers have expressed their displeasure over the fact that a number of talented and in-form youngsters are not able to play for the country because of Virat Kohli’s inclusion in the squad.
The good thing is that Virat Kohli has complete support of his skipper Rohit Sharma, coach Rahul Dravid and team management and everyone is hoping that he gets his touch back before the ICC T20 World Cup which is slated to take place in Australia in October this year.
Recently while speaking on a sports show, Virat Kohli states that he is pretty much aware of the phase that he is going through but he wants to learn from it and emerge as a better cricketer. The Delhi player is still very confident about himself and his game too, he says that he knows where his game stands and it wouldn’t have been possible for him to come so far if he didn’t have the capability to counter difficult situations, conditions and different types of bowling attacks. He goes on to say that though the current phase is easier to process for him, he doesn’t want to leave it behind.
He further states that he wants to learn from this phase and also understand the core values that he has, not just as a sportsperson but also as a human being as well. He adds that there will be ups and downs but if he keeps on sticking to core values, he will certainly come out of the slump. Talking about his experiences of this lean phase, he says that these experiences are sacred to him because whatever has been experienced by him has made him value himself more.
Virat Kohli also played in the ODI series and T20 series against England but he failed in performing with bat. Fans and few former cricketers were also unhappy with him because in their opinion, he should play more and more cricket in order to get his form back.
Will Virat Kohli come out of slump in the Asia Cup 2022? What do you think? Let us know your views.