While Virat Kohli continues to struggle with his form, his application for rest for the upcoming West Indies series has caused a mini-stir. The decision on Kohli's rest application is likely to be taken after the completion of the ongoing T20I series against England.
The issue will be discussed with Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah. On July 11, captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid are likely to take a call whether Kohli will be allowed to opt out of five-T20I series or not.
“The player has requested for rest but will see what unanimous decision comes out in the meeting. In my personal opinion, he should go for the matches and not take rest. There was an earlier notification from the board to conduct meeting on June 11. However, there is no update on the meeting so far,” one of the selection committee members said on the condition of anonymity.
Kohli is already not a part of ODI series starting July 22. Recently, Kohli was not a part of five-T20I series at home against South Africa post Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.
In Kohli’s absence, there have been a few contenders for the no.3 spot. Deepak Hooda hit a century against Ireland and made a valuable contribution in the first T20I when Kohli and other senior players were rested. Also, Shreyas Iyer hit three consecutive half-centuries against Sri Lanka at home earlier this year.
Kohli got out for a single on his return to T20I at Edgbaston, Birmingham. However, the 33-year-old has four half-centuries in his last 10 appearances in T20I cricket. His last half-century came against West Indies at Eden Gardens, Kolkata in February 2022.
