'Virat has tried everything. But he has gone into a shell': Ex-Pakistan star's bold prediction on Kohli's 'bad patch'

Kohli's poor run of form has invited criticism and some of the former cricketers like Kapil Dev and Venkatesh Prasad have questioned his place in the Twenty20 set-up.

Jasprit Bumrah scythed through the England top order as India thrashed the hosts by 10 wickets in the first ODI of the series on Tuesday. The fast bowler picked up a career-best 6-19, blowing away the 50-over world champions with his opening burst comprising four wickets in five overs. While Bumrah made waves in the first half of play, skipper Rohit Sharma shone with the bat, taking his team past the finish line with more than 31 overs to spare.

Former India captain Virat Kohli (Getty Images)

While Rohit looked his old flamboyant self, his predecessor Virat Kohli missed the game with an injury. An India spokesman said that the star batter, who has been struggling for runs of late, had not been considered for the series opener because of a "mild groin strain". Kohli's batting slump has triggered a huge debate over his place in the current set-up. The former skipper has been going through a prolonged lean patch and has not hit a century since 2019. He scored 31 across two innings in the Edgbaston Test and followed it up with 1 and 11 in the two Twenty20 games in England.

Kohli's poor run of form has invited criticism and some of the former cricketers like Kapil Dev and Venkatesh Prasad have questioned his place in the Twenty20 side. But former Pakistan tweaker Danish Kaneria feels the Indian has gone into a shell but will come back stronger when he finds his lost mojo.

"Virat is a very big player. He has led the team to glory – there are no two ways about it. He is a world-class player but is facing a bad patch at the moment. We would love to see Virat playing and making runs against any team. Every kid aspires to be Virat and players try to copy his technique as well. But for three years, he hasn't been able to get out of his zone. He has tried everything so far... but he has gone into a shell. He needs to get motivated by himself to get out of it. The more he lifts himself up, the more he flourishes," said Kaneria on his official YouTube channel after India's win.

"When Virat will come back, he will come back stronger, probably with a double century. He will then rule the world and he has done that before. Players go through bad patch and get mature. Batters and leg-spinners get mature after the age of 33-34 and they learn to control their game better. I am 100 per cent sure that bowlers will be scared when Virat finds his form," he added.

Kohli will also miss the upcoming West Indies Twenty20s. The out-of-form batter was absent from the squad that the BCCI announced on Thursday. The selectors, however, didn't clarify whether Kohli was dropped due to poor form or rested due to injury concerns. India will play at three venues in Trinidad, St Kitts and Lauderhill in the US state of Florida.