Sign in

Virender Sehwag slams Virat Kohli’s team selection, tells skipper to ‘drop himself’

Virender Sehwag criticised Virat Kohli’s team selection for the second Test vs the South African cricket team, stating that the Indian cricket team skipper should drop himself for the final Test if he fails at Centurion.

Updated on: Jan 13, 2018, 21:06:19 IST
Press Trust of India, New Delhi | By
Share
Share via
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
Copy link
  • copy link

Virender Sehwag today stated that Virat Kohli “should drop himself” if he fails in the second Test against South Africa, launching a scathing attack on the India skipper for his team selection. (IND v SA 2nd Test highlights)

Virat Kohli’s team selection for the second Test vs South Africa came under plenty of criticism, with ex-India opener Virender Sehwag pulling no punches in his criticism for the Indian cricket team skipper. (AFP)
Virat Kohli’s team selection for the second Test vs South Africa came under plenty of criticism, with ex-India opener Virender Sehwag pulling no punches in his criticism for the Indian cricket team skipper. (AFP)

Coming into the game at Centurion after suffering a 72- run defeat in the first Test, India made three changes to their playing XI with KL Rahul replacing Shikhar Dhawan and Ishant Sharma coming in for Bhuvneshwar, whose three-wicket burst in the first morning of the opening Test had rocked the hosts. (IND v SA 2nd Test scorecard)

“Watching Virat Kohli excluding Shikhar Dhawan for just one Test failure, and Bhuvneshwar for no reason at all, Kohli should drop himself in the third Test if he fails to perform in Centurion,” Sehwag told ‘India TV’.

The other change was wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, who was ruled out due to a strain, and Parthiv Patel was included is his place.

“Excluding Bhuvneshwar wasn’t the right decision. Citing that Ishant might benefit with his height, Virat Kohli has hurt Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s self-confidence.

“They could have played Ishant in place of any other bowler. Bhuvneshwar performed well in Cape Town and excluding him like this isn’t justified,” Sehwag added.

India’s record of nine consecutive series victories is on the line after the hosts took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

It is only the second match in India’s 12-Test long overseas schedule in 2018-19, and already they are faced with a must-not-lose situation in a bid to keep this series alive.

Get live cricket scores, match updates, schedules, results and ICC rankings. Follow the latest news, statistics and performances of top teams and players on Hindustan Times.