Following the Indian Premier League or IPL 2022, Danish Kaneria chastised Virat Kohli for missing several international tours, including the West Indies tour and the One Day Internationals (ODIs) against Zimbabwe. This criticism was made in light of the Asia Cup competition, which will be held later this month.
The ex-Pakistani cricket player claimed that Kohli's lack of preparation would hinder his performance and threaten his chances of competing in the T20 World Cup later this year.
According to reports, Kohli only played once in England after the IPL and only logged six innings. As a result, the Asia Cup will mark just his second appearance in the team since that time.
Kaneria said to India Today that Kohli is beginning to struggle with his game.
“The only thing is Virat Kohli is struggling and the time period has gone too far. It’s like three years and all the dilemma," he said.
"After the 2021 T20 World Cup, he lost his captaincy (in ODIs) and then the board issues and statements came in the media. Too much happened.”
According to him, Kohli needs to play more games and should concentrate more on cricket.
“I think he needs to focus more on cricket, on his batting and if he wants to play for a few more years he needs to perform.”
Kaneria on Kohli's 'wrong' move
Kaneria further emphasised how it was wrong for Kohli to miss international matches, particularly considering how international cricket may have helped him get back "into the form."
“I think he has done wrong by missing international matches," Kaneria said. "He should have skipped some IPL games but should not have skipped international cricket because international cricket could have brought him back into the form.”
"The five T20Is against West Indies were crucial for him and he should have come up and played in that series,” he added.
Kaneria went on to explain how Kohli's performance, particularly leading up to the Asia Cup, would suffer from a lack of match preparation.
“Lack of match practice could impact his performance (at Asia Cup)," he said.
"He hasn’t played after the England series. Maybe he could have played domestic cricket in England to get his form back. He will be coming fresh now at Asia Cup. From there we have to see whether he will be able to perform or not.”
However, Kaneria said that Kohli's poor performance was also a result of India's bench strength, which included Deepak Hooda and Shreyas Iyer, both of whom gave strong performances in any match when playing in the team.
Kohli also failed to deliver during the most recent England tour, scoring just 76 runs in six test match appearances.
He previously had to skip the first ODI series class because of a groin issue. He didn't play very well in the final two 5-over games, though, scoring just 33 runs.
Additionally, he only scored 341 runs in the IPL, averaging just 22,73 throughout the course of the competition's 16 games.
In late August, Kohli is anticipated to return to the Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates to face Pakistan, a rival team, in the tournament's opening match.
