Though India lost the three-match ODI series against New Zealand, Virat Kohli once again proved to be one of if not their top performers. The star batter played a sizzling knock of 124 in the third ODI and was the side's lone warrior as they failed to chase down the enormous target of 338. The 37-year-old finished the series with 240 runs under his belt from three innings. This included a century and half-century each.
After the conclusion of the third ODI, Vikas Kohli decided to troll Sanjay Manjrekar once again for the "easiest format" claim that he made towards his brother Virat. The comment had seen the former India cricketer land in hot water as he was criticised brutally by many. Vikas was one of them and he decided to have a pop at Manjrekar for the second time after Virat continued his golden run in ODIs.
"I wonder if Mr Expert of cricket has some suggestions for the easiest form of cricket. You need to be there to do that. Anyways, as I said, Easier said than done," Vikas Kohli wrote on Instagram Threads.
Manjrekar's explosive claim on Virat
On the other hand, Manjrekar had come under fire recently for claiming that Virat chose to play the easier format in ODIs and retired from Tests. He had further claimed that the star batter hadn'\t put his all into the longest format in the past few years.
"Well, as Joe Root attains new heights in Test cricket, my mind goes to Virat Kohli. He's walked away from Tests, and it's unfortunate that in the five years that he struggled before retiring, he didn't quite put his heart and soul into finding out the problems as to why he was averaging 31 for five years in Tests. That is for another time as to what he could have done. But I just feel sad that people like Joe Root and Steve Smith, Kane Williamson are really making a name for themselves in Test Cricket," Manjrekar had said on his Instagram handle.
Virat's next international assignment
Meanwhile, Virat won't be playing an international match for the next few months. With IPL 2026 set to begin some time after the 2026 T20 World Cup, India will compete in an international assignment after a long time. Their next scheduled series is set to be held in July. It will be a white-ball tour of England that will include five T20Is and three ODIs.