The Indian cricket fans have slammed Virat Kohli after he failed to deliver with the bat in the second T20I against England at Edgbaston.
Team India’s decision to replace in-form Deepak Hooda with Virat Kohli in the playing eleven for the second T20I completely backfired. Kohli was not a part of the squad for the first game as he along with several other players was rested because of playing in the Edgbaston Test.
And while Kohli was expected to find a place in the playing eleven straightaway, not many had expected him to replace Hooda in the team. With Kohli not in the team, Hooda was tried out as opener as well as at number three and he made the most of the opportunity.
Hooda has been in good form for quite some time now. He had an outstanding outing in this year’s IPL where he scored 451 runs at a strike-rate of more than 136. And the right-handed batsman has been in same form in the ongoing tour of the UK.
Hooda has not only impressed with his aggressive batting and ability to play the big shots but also his consistency. He played both the T20Is against Ireland last month and did well. In the first T20I, he opened the innings and scored an unbeaten 47 off just 29 balls in the rain-curtailed game.
In the following game, he batted at number three and played a sensational knock of 104 off just 54 balls. He followed it up with a knock of 59 against Derbyshire in the warm-up game. Even in the first T20I against England, he played a fine cameo of 33 off just 17 balls.
Also Read: 4 Players Who Can Replace Virat Kohli At Number 3 In India’s T20I Team If He Is Dropped
Virat Kohli flops after replacing Deepak Hooda:
While Hooda was in top form, the team-management decided to drop him from the eleven to make way for returning Virat Kohli. The former India skipper, however, failed to justify the decision. He was out for just 1 off 3 balls.
And as Kohli failed with the bat, the fans took to Twitter to slam him. Some fans urged the team-management to drop him while some even went on to say that the star batsman is destroying Indian cricket.
Here are some of the reactions to Virat Kohli’s failure:
Kohli destroying Indian Cricket. Hooda in the form of his life had to make way for Kohli. What does this do for the confidence of players?
Dada needs to do one better and kick Chokli out of the team.#ENGvIND
— Harsh (@NaMoStadium) July 9, 2022
So let’s see. Hooda in the form of his life had to make way for Kohli. What does this do for the confidence of players?
— Arnab Ray (@greatbong) July 9, 2022
Based on current form, I'd prefer Sanju Samson/Deepak Hooda over Virat Kohli in the team.#ViratKohli #ENGvsIND
— Ashish Pareek (@pareektweets) July 9, 2022
In form Deepak Hooda is dropped from team to make a place for Virat Kohli, The biggest problem with Kohli isn't that he isn't making runs but he is also not letting new batsmen to score runs.
— EngiNerd. (@mainbhiengineer) July 9, 2022
Got to feel for Deepak Hooda. 205 runs including a hundred in just 6 T20Is at a strike-rate of 170+ and an average nearly touching 70. His time will come ? #ENGvIND
— Rohit Sankar (@imRohit_SN) July 9, 2022
Virat Kohli with his brand name walks in the playing XI replacing
Deepak Hooda mr consistent these days. Indian Cricket is not going any where ?? #ENGvsIND #INDvENG— SakshamK (@Sakshamcric) July 9, 2022
https://twitter.com/_ChandlerFan/status/1545771083000840192
They dropped Hooda for this shit ?
— Gabbbar (@GabbbarSingh) July 9, 2022
No more debates, Virat Kohli just has to score in the upcoming matches otherwise he could be out of the team. #ViratKohli #IndvEng
— Sushant Mehta (@SushantNMehta) July 9, 2022