Former Indian cricketer and opener Gautam Gambhir came out in defence of Virat Kohli amid the latter\u2019s poor run of form.<\/p>\n
Gambhir said on Sunday that even though the Indian skipper hasn\u2019t scored an international century in a while, he has made some crucial half-centuries.<\/p>\n
The former batsman also observed that the scrutiny on Virat Kohli is from the fact that the country is obsessed with centuries.<\/p>\n
Kohli hasn\u2019t scored an international hundred since November 2019. In the first T20I against England, he recorded a five-ball duck which was his third in his last five innings across formats.<\/p>\n
Speaking on Star Sports, Gambhir pointed out at Virat Kohli\u2019s 74 against Australia in Adelaide and two fifties in the recently concluded Test series against England.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to remember that India have played Test cricket on difficult wickets. Apart from Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant, none of the other batsmen could score consistently in the Tests. And Kohli obviously sets such high standards for himself that we talk about form when he doesn\u2019t score hundreds. He has been scoring fifties. He scored a fifty in Adelaide and also got two fifties against England. Yes, he didn\u2019t get a hundred and perhaps that\u2019s why there\u2019s a lot of debate going around. India are obsessed with hundreds,\u201d said Gautam Gambhir.<\/p>\n
Gautam Gambhir thought that Virat Kohli could play more freely in the remaining T20Is because he has dependable players.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I believe this format is such that it will allow him to play freely. He\u2019s got a Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya, who can take the pressure off him,\u201d said Gautam Gambhir.<\/p>\n
After the first T20I wherein India lost by eight wickets, Virat Kohli acknowledged his performance and said it was a part of his long journey in international cricket. Kohli also added that he will stick to his plans and come back stronger next game.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s part of the journey of international cricket. When you play for that long, you have ups and downs. On your day, you will end up scoring much more, sometimes it doesn\u2019t come off. But the important thing is to stay true to your intent and plans as a batsman and accept that the bowling team can come out and execute their plans better than you. For me, it has always been about going out there and trying to be as positive as I can,\u201d said Virat Kohli.<\/p>\n
The second T20I between India and England would be held at Ahmedabad on Sunday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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