“Virat Kohli should have left half of IPL”: Danish Kaneria reckons Virat Kohli should have missed IPL 2022 than international cricket

Danish Kaneria reckons Virat Kohli: The former Pakistani spinner has expressed disapproval of the Indian batter missing international cricket.

Former India captain Virat Kohli is among the limelight since India’s first practice session ahead of Asia Cup 2022 was concluded in Dubai yesterday. Photos and clips from the training session have been doing the rounds across social media platform since last night.

Among the firsts to bat in the Indian nets, Kohli was seen attacking the bowlers especially spinners. Looking to hit the spinners down the ground in the videos, Kohli is said to have batted for a comparatively longer duration.

With the Pakistani squad arriving for training at the same venue, Kohli shook hands with Pakistan captain Babar Azam. The affectionate video has since gardened a lot of views as the prospect of India-Pakistan cricketers sharing a sight is rare in modern-day cricket.

Readers must note that this Kohli-Azam meeting is the first one since the latter took to his social media platform Twitter handle to wish Kohli luck when he was struggling for runs last month.

Danish Kaneria reckons Virat Kohli should have missed IPL 2022 than international cricket

Not that Kohli has regained his form but an imminent Asia Cup will provide him with yet another opportunity of ending an elongated rut. Part of India’s 15-member squad, Kohli will play in the top-order alongside captain Rohit Sharma and vice-captain KL Rahul.

Speaking in an interview with cricketnext.com, former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria has opined that Kohli should have missed one half of Indian Premier League 2022 than missing international cricket to “rest”. A dismal IPL 2022 in spite of repeated chances by Royal Challengers Bangalore had witnessed Kohli playing all the matches despite limited returns.

“Poor fellow, Virat [Kohli]. During [ICC] 2021 T20 World Cup, he was out of his form and team was also collapsing. Virat Kohli should have left half of IPL because he cannot miss international cricket. In IPL, also, he was out of form and he was continuously playing and playing.” Kohli told cricketnext.com.

Kaneria, who expressed disapproval of Kohli skipping tours of West Indies and Zimbabwe, believes that the 33-year old player should’ve played against these comparatively weaker teams in order to find his lost touch.

Acknowledging that things can get hard with players traveling frequently inside a pandemic, Kaneria was hopeful of a “big player” in Kohli returning to his usual destructive touch in the Asia Cup.

“Sometimes, two things happen, it’s like there’s a stale on your form. You do best to your strengths but there is a stale because there is continuous amount of cricket. Day and night cricket and then travelling as well. There is bubble, there is Covid, you can’t go out and can’t refreshened yourself, so cricket is different these days,” Kaneria added.