Dubai – According to India’s head coach Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli is still a vital member of the team. Dravid is pleased with the former captain’s Asia Cup form and believes that statistics should not be overemphasized.
The 33-year-old Kohli scored an unbeaten 59 during India’s group victory over Hong Kong and is revitalized ahead of the Asia Cup holders’ Super Four showdown with fierce rivals Pakistan on Sunday night in Dubai.
The fact that Kohli has not scored an international century in any format since 2019 has been a persistent topic of conversation among fans and commentators.
However, Dravid believed that the former captain was regaining his form following a hiatus from the sport.
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“It’s great to see that he’s back in good shape,” Dravid told reporters.
“He played quite well in the most recent encounter, and we are pleased with his performance. It is not important to us how many runs he scores.
“People become a bit fascinated with Virat’s statistics and numbers, specifically. “That’s not really relevant to us,” Dravid stated.
Before taking a vacation from cricket and skipping India’s visits to the West Indies and Zimbabwe, Kohli revealed that he had attempted to fake his intensity after experiencing mental health concerns.
Kohli began the six-team event, which is a key tune-up for next month’s T20 World Cup, with a crucial 35 in India’s close victory against Pakistan.
“For us, it’s all about the contributions he can make in all phases of the game and the nature of those contributions. It need not be in the tens or hundreds or be a statistic,” stated Dravid.
What is the job of a player and what does the team require in T20 cricket? Virat is quite committed to delivering impressive performances. I hope he can continue to perform so well in the competition.”
Since making his debut in 2011, Kohli has amassed 27 hundreds in 102 Tests. During the previous 12 months, he also lost his position as national captain.
He recently participated in his 100th Twenty20 international and has a batting average of above 50 with 31 half-centuries.
AFP