Former India skipper Virat Kohli's lurching form has seen a difference of opinion among the cricket experts, however, it has also left the Indian team management scratching their heads on how should the 33-year-old's form should be dealt.
While some are calling for Kohli's axe from the T20I format where some are throwing their weight behind the high-profile batter.
Meanwhile, former India selector Saba Karim warned and urged the Indian team management to avoid making a blunder to not keep Kohli away from T20Is or from unnecessary rests.
Right after the conclusion of T20 World Cup 2021, Kohli stepped down from the captaincy post from all the three formats in successive order.
But despite taking the captaincy load of his chest, Kohli's form hasn't shown any signs of improvement, rather seen a constant dip across format.
"I would say that would be a blunder from India's perspective. Never do that and I think Virat is such an important figure in the Indian lineup."
"The way I look at it, the way Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid have backed Virat Kohli, that makes sense because they know that Virat Kohli back in good form will be extremely beneficial for the team's success in World Cup T20," said Karim.
Despite Kohli's visibly poor form, skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid have continued to back him. Karim explained that the captain-coach duo's backing is such as they know what Virat can bring to the team.
"I look at it in a different way altogether. First, the selectors and team management have to decide whether Virat Kohli is essential for India's T20 World Cup side or not. Once they feel that Virat is essential for the team's success, then I chart a path for Virat Kohli's comeback to great form."
Karim also stressed that Kohli shouldn't be forced to play the forthcoming ODI series against Zimbabwe if he doesn't want to.
"That's the time when the selectors or the captain or Rahul Dravid would love to have a chat with him and try and take it forward. I would not want to have any kind of imposition on Virat that - 'Hey listen you have to come back and play the Zimbabwe series, otherwise we will not pick you for the World Cup T20'."
