Leg-spinner Yasir Shah has warned Pakistan to beware of Virat Kohli when they face India in their Asia Cup 2022 opener at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, August 28. Kohli has witnessed a dry run in form since November 2019 and hasn't scored a century for more than 1000 days now.
Meanwhile, the wrist spinner has urged the Babar Azam-led side not to take Kohli lightly. He said that the batting megastar can come back to form any time and reckons that the Asia Cup fixture could be a perfect opportunity for him to get back to scoring big runs.
For Virat Kohli, class is permanent: Yasir Shah
“Don’t take Virat Kohli easy. Yes, he is not in form because he is struggling to score runs, but he is a world-class player and he can come back to form at any time,” Yasir said to Pakistan channel pktv.tv.
Kohli had a torrid time in the two T20Is that he played in England, scoring 1 and 11 respectively. After the England ODIs, he was given a break for the limited-overs series tour of the West Indies and Zimbabwe.
However, Pakistan will have their hands full as Kohli has enjoyed batting against them in the continental tournament. In the 2012 edition, he had scored 183, which to date remains his highest score in One Day Internationals. He then scored a match-winning 49, four years later, when the Men in Blue had lost key wickets of
Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane early on.
Kohli had scored 50s in the last two T20 World Cup fixtures against the Men in Green in 2016 and 2021 respectively. These consistent performances which make him a threatening force against Pakistan.
Much to the respite of Indian fans, Babar & Co. will also be without the services of their ace pacer Shaheen Afridi, who has been ruled out due to a knee injury. Therefore, the onus will be on the likes of Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah to trouble the Indian top-order, including Virat Kohli.
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