Veteran leg-spinner Piyush Chawla admitted that Virat Kohli played a lot of selfless cricket during the second T20I against England at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Saturday and put the team ahead of himself. After missing out on the first match of the series at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, Kohli replaced Deepak Hooda in the second match.
Richard Gleason dismissed Team India’s captain Rohit Sharma and after that Virat came to bat. He was caught by David Malan off Gleason’s ball in an attempt to hit a big shot. Facing constant criticism for his form, the former Team India captain scored one run in three balls.
Meanwhile, Chawla felt that Kohli tried to put the needs of his team ahead of himself and hence tried to play the big shot. Chawla admitted that Kohli is going through a rough patch but praised him for putting the team ahead of himself. Talking about Virat Kohli and his wicket, he said on ESPN Cricinfo, he played for the team and tried to take an aggressive approach. He saw that the ball could be shot and tried to hit. Though he is not in the best of form, it is important to see that he puts his team ahead of himself.”
Chawla further said, “Virat Kohli is capable of fulfilling the needs of the team. It’s just an innings and a big score and we will be able to see Kohli play the way we want him to play for the last 18 months.” Let us inform that India has taken a 2-0 lead in the three-match series. After the T20 series, a three-match ODI series will also be played between the two teams.
After this Team India will go on the Caribbean tour. ODI and T20 series will be played there. ODI squad has been announced. Shikhar Dhawan has been made the captain. Some other players including Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been rested. It is believed that Virat can be rested in the T20 series as well.