Virat Kohli’s future in international cricket is one of the enduring mysteries of the sport. One of the great players of the past decade, his withdrawal from two of the three formats means his appearances in an India shirt will now be few and far between.
This has been a point of concern for many, as they point to the double ducks on his return in Australia last month as an indication of the harm of a lack of match practice. However, Kohli bounced back with a fine half-century in the third and final ODI in Sydney, a fine innings which has reinstalled confidence in many fans.
Former Australian bowler Andy Bichel backed Kohli to use his retirements from Test and T20 cricket to instead hyper-focus on the 50-over format, which has historically been his strongest. "I think for someone like Virat he is very fit. He's going along really well. Obviously, he still wants to play the IPL. RCB won it last year so he's keen to go back-to-back there and do that,” explained Bichel to Times of India.
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“I guess dropping out of Test cricket gives him a focus point, to focus on his 50-over cricket. If he's scoring well and giving it to the team, like he has been, then you can't fault him for that,” he continued. “His currency is runs. He just needs to go out there and keep scoring and if he is, he can make the 2027 World Cup.”
Kohli reminds Bichel of ‘energetic’ Ponting
{{/usCountry}}“I guess dropping out of Test cricket gives him a focus point, to focus on his 50-over cricket. If he's scoring well and giving it to the team, like he has been, then you can't fault him for that,” he continued. “His currency is runs. He just needs to go out there and keep scoring and if he is, he can make the 2027 World Cup.”
Kohli reminds Bichel of ‘energetic’ Ponting
{{/usCountry}}While that is easier said than done, Kohli does possess incredible pedigree in ODIs, and had a strong Champions Trophy campaign earlier this year. More than that, Bichel referenced how it was his mental strength and work ethic that reminded him of legendary Aussie batter Ricky Ponting, and gave him reason to back Kohli.
"Virat Kohli is an absolute legend of the game. He always reminds of Ricky Ponting. Ricky played the same game, a very good batter. Virat is one of those players who really took the game on, really energetic and great to watch. Same as Ricky,” explained Bichel.
Bichel, along with Kohli's millions of fans, won't have to wait too much longer to watch Kohli in action again, as India prepare for an all-format series against South Africa this month.