Shikhar Dhawan passes verdict on Virat Kohli taking rest from West Indies, Zimbabwe tour amid criticism
With Kohli continuing to opt for rest with the T20 World Cup just two months away, experts have expressed their concern. And amid the criticisms, veteran India opener Shikhar Dhawan has given his verdict on the same.
Former India skipper Virat Kohli has been not just faced immense criticism of late for his struggles with the bat but also for opting for rest from white-ball series. Veterans and experts are of the opinion that with Kohli struggling the get runs, the more matches he plays the better it will be for the star batter to shrug off the rough patch. But with Kohli continuing to opt for rest with the T20 World Cup just two months away, experts have expressed their concern. And amid the criticisms, veteran India opener Shikhar Dhawan has given his verdict on the same. (India vs West Indies 4th T20 Live Score)
Following IPL 2022, Kohli appeared on just one tour. He missed the series at home against South Africa and was also not part of the Ireland tour. On returning to Indian side in the England tour, Kohli, beside the Edgbaston Test, appeared in four of the white-ball matches played across two series. Kohli returned with scores of 12 runs in two T20Is and 33 runs in two ODI matches.
Kohli was then rested from the ongoing West Indies tour, where India played three ODIs and are presently part of the five-match T20I contest, and the impending Zimbabwe tour as well.
Speaking to Indiatoday.in, Dhawan jumped to Kohli's defense explaining that big-name players, inclduing Rohit Sharma, are being rested owing to their rotation policy.
"A player has to get fresh to give peak performance. If a player plays back-to-back, he will get mentally tired. It is important to give rest mentally. If you see there is rotation in international cricket so that players get rest. If a player travels everywhere, he will get tired. At the end of the day, a cricketer is a human. I feel people at top level understand and accordingly plan to keep a nice balance," Dhawan said.
Besides Kohli, Rohit as well has missed quite a few matches. Following IPL 2022, he returned to lead the Indian side only in the West Indies tour and has been rested from the Zimbabwe series where Dhawan will be leading the Indian side.