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Former India skipper Virat Kohli's patchy form have drawn gamut of criticism ranging from cricketing world to fans. The call for the batting juggernaut's ouster is also rising match by match as Kohli's struggle with the form doesn't seem to stop. Kohli has also been rested form the upcoming West Indies tour.
The 33-year-old had a forgettable run in the England tour where he could only muster 33 runs in the three-match ODIs and mere 12 runs in as many T20Is.
Amid the brewing criticism, veteran India batter and Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate Dinesh Karthik predicted Kohli's comeback as he said that the player of the Virat's calibre can never be ruled out.
"Virat has experienced insane success over the period of time. Now he will get a good break and will come back all recharged and hopefully, will do phenomenally well. You can never rule out a player of his calibre," said Karthik told Times of India.
Karthik too will be travelling to the Caribbean for the five-match series which begins from July 29 onwards.
Earlier, Kohli received support from India skipper Rohit Sharma as well during the England tour.
"He has played so many matches for so many years. He has been such a great batsman so he does not need reassurance. I think I said in the last press conference as well that form can go up and down. That is part and parcel of all the players' career. This happens with everyone. So a player who has won so many matches, needs only 1 or 2 innings. This is what I believe and I am sure rest feel the same way," Rohit had said.
Karthik made a fairytale return to the Indian side. The 37-year-old commented on his comeback and admitted that while it was a tough task, he said he worked hard for it. Karthik also hailed India's bench strength.
"It is never easy, but I have worked hard for it. Also, given the bench strength that we have today, the competition is always going to be a part of it. This is the beauty of Indian cricket," said Karthik.
The Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper could find himself in the thick of things when it comes to the squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia.
The 37-year-old said that the team is preparing for the challenges in the event and said that the environment around the team has been very positive.
"As a team we are preparing for the challenges we will have to face during the upcoming World Cup. Coach Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma have taken everyone along as we prepare for the big event. It is a very positive environment," said Karthik.
India's squad for 5 T20Is:
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.
