Kapil Dev wants Virat Kohli to be ‘benched’ in T20I series against England

Former Indian captain Kapil Dev believes that if Ravichandran Ashwin can be benched in the Indian Test team, then the same can be done with Virat Kohli in T20Is as well.

The batting maestro's slump in form has been a cause of worry for the Indian Team since 2020. The batter has failed to regain his golden touch and score runs effortlessly as he’s been scoring throughout his career.

“Yes, now the situation is such that you might be forced to bench Kohli from T20 playing eleven. If world No. 2 bowler Ashwin can be dropped from Test side then (once upon a time) world No. 1 batter can also be dropped," said Kapil Dev, as quoted by The Times Of India.

"Virat is not batting at a level which we have seen him do over the years. He has made a name because of his performances but if he isn't performing, then you can't keep the performing youngsters out of the team," said the legendary cricketer.

He would like to see a healthy competition for places in the side with youngsters posing a challenge for star players.

"I want competition for places in team in a positive sense that these youngsters should try and outperform Virat,” the all-rounder said.

Kapil feels that if Kohli is "rested" for the T20Is against the West Indies, it would rather be considered as "dropped".

It should be noted that this is the only format where Kohli hasn’t lost his golden touch and has been scoring runs consistently in the format. The Indian batter has scored 663 runs in the format since 2020 at an average of 47. The batter scored 299 runs at an average of 74 in 2021. He also won the ‘Player of the Series’ award in the 2021 T20 series against England.

The star batter has just played two T20 internationals this year and has a half-century to his name in one of them. It would be interesting to see the Team management’s decision regarding Kohli in T20Is if he fails to score in upcoming matches.