‘The thing is Virat Kohli will now..’- Ex-India cricketer drops a massive statement on Virat Kohli’s future in T20 format

India’s former captain, Virat Kohli was a notable omission from the 15-man squad for the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka. The Indian Cricket Board didn’t include the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul in the T20I squad.

While Rohit Sharma has been given more time to recover from his injury, the likes of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul have been asked to rest and come back in the ODIs, which will be followed, thereafter.

Virat Kohli had a sensational outing at the 20-20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. His exclusion from the squad for the upcoming T20 series invited a lot of criticism from the fans.

Former Indian cricketer, Sanjay Manjrekar, however, believes that Kohli’s hasn’t gone out of the reckoning in the shortest format and that the selectors want him to play as many as ODIs as possible as this is a World Cup year.

“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.” Marjerakar told ESPN Cricinfo.

“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.”

In addition to that, Majrekar feels that Virat Kohli will now feel the added pressure of competing with the young Indian batters as he is no longer an automatic selection in the shortest format.

“Virat Kohli had a pretty good World Cup, the former cricketer said. “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,” Manjrekar added.

“The thing is Virat Kohli will now constantly face pressure from others who are getting opportunities in his place.”