'Stick to street cricket': Ex-Pakistan cricketer hits out at critics questioning Virat Kohli's place in India T20 squad

Former Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Irfan took a dig at the detractors of Virat Kohli for questioning his place in the India squad for the T20 World Cup. According to a report in The Telegraph, the Indian selectors are reconsidering Kohli’s place in the T20I setup and this has ignited a slew of debates. Kohli made a comeback to India’s T20 fold after a hiatus of 14 months earlier this year during the Afghanistan series. He, along with Rohit Sharma, had taken a break from the shortest format after the 2022 T20 World Cup.

Irfan was all praise for Kohli and even said that the former Indian skipper was indispensable for India as he could single-handedly win matches. Expressing his unwavering support for Kohli, Irfan stated, “I have no doubts about it. You can’t have a team without Virat Kohli because he is a tremendous batsman. We witnessed it in ODI World Cup last year, where he won 3-4 matches almost single-handedly. Had Kohli not stepped up on those occasions, India would have lost group-stage encounters against Australia and New Zealand,” Irfan told News24 during an interview.

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Kohli was in his element in the 2023 ODI World Cup and ended as the leading run getter of the tournament. As per the aforementioned report, there are questions regarding his batting approach and his strike rate since India try to make a concerted effort to come out all guns blazing in T20Is.

Irfan, however, did not see any merit in this debate and said that people questioning Kohli should confine themselves to street cricket. “Look at his recent performances, it’s unfair to doubt his spot. Those who have doubts over Virat Kohli’s inclusion in the T20 World Cup squad should stick to street cricket,” he added.

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Irfan also said that strike rate is very important in T20 cricket since batters who consume too many dot deliveries bring a lot of pressure to their side. The selectors will now be looking at the performance of young players in the IPL that starts from 22 March. Provisional squads for the T20 World Cup have to be submitted to the ICC by the first week of May.