Former Pakistan ace spinner Danish Kaneria believes that India's former skipper Virat Kohli will have to fire with the bat in the imminent Asia Cup if the star batter has to make a cut in the India's squad for the T20 World Cup.
The recent decline in Kohli's form has jeopardised his place in the Indian fold. It's been three years since Kohli struck his last International century. However, Kaneria said India's skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid is backing Kohli to the hilt and the 33-year-old high profile batter needs to repay the trust shown by the Indian management.
"If Virat Kohli returns, everyone is expecting him to come back with a bang. If Kohli wants to be considered for the T20 World Cup, he will have to perform, either by hook or crook. You can't have such huge baggage with the team and then benching him will also be incredibly tough," Kaneria said in a video uploaded on his YouTube channel.
"No doubt he has the support of Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid but he has to deliver," he said.
Kaneria also stated that Pakistan would want Kohli's patchy form to continue to stay clear of any potential threat which righ-handed batter poses.
"Pakistan will hope that Kohli's form slump continues because if he gets back his mojo, he will be dangerous for them," Kaneria said.
Kohli's lean patch with the bat has become a hot topic of debate of late. The star India batter has not registered a century since November 2019 and in recent months, he has struggled to play impactful knocks.
India will face Pakistan in their first match of Asia Cup on August 28 in Dubai.
India squad for Asia Cup: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan.
