Gautam Gambhir slams Virat Kohli for his shot selection

Virat Kohli scored 35 (34) against Pakistan (PC: Twitter)

Virat Kohli’s lean patch in international cricket continues. As India were set to chase the target of 148 runs against Pakistan, the fans had high expectations from the Chase Master. Returning from a break of over one month, Kohli definitely looked in better shape and form as compared to the England tour.

After a shaky start, the batter showed signs of brilliance in the middle. Kohli played some beautiful shots as he collected three boundaries and one maximum. With both KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma dismissed for nothing, Indians were hopeful of a blistering knock from the former skipper.

Kohli’s poor dismissal against Pakistan

However, despite looking in good form, Kohli lost his wicket cheaply. In an attempt to play a big shot against Mohammed Nawaz, he gave an easy catch to Iftikhar Ahmed. It was a poor shot selection and Kohli’s demeanour following his dismissal reflected the same.

Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir also seemed upset with the way the 33-year-old gifted his wicket. The veteran believes that Kohli has all the reasons to be more disappointed as he played a nothing shot. Notably, he walked back to the pavilion after scoring 35 runs off 34 balls.

Gambhir blames Kohli for making things difficult

Gambhir also reflected on how the right-hander had a big responsibility of playing the role of an anchor. The former KKR skipper believes that a youngster would have met with harsh criticism if he would have lost his wicket the way Kohli did.

Speaking to Star Sports, Gambhir said,

“He (Kohli) will be extremely disappointed because Rohit Sharma’s wicket had just fallen and after that, if you play a shot like that. I am sure of the number of runs he has scored in international cricket. When he sees this shot he will tell himself that the shot was not required. You played 34 balls and scored 35 runs, your captain had just gotten out, if you had built your innings a little more, things might have become easier.”

Meanwhile, it is extremely important for Kohli to score runs in the Asia Cup 2022 to cement his place in India’s squad for the T20I World Cup.

Also Read: Virat Kohli’s T20I average drops below 50