"Ab lagta hai behtar din ayenge"- Virender Sehwag expects Virat Kohli to bounce back in one-off Test vs England

Virat Kohli in action during the practice game. (P.C: Kohli Instagram)

Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag believes star batter Virat Kohli's bad days are behind him.

The former Indian captain scored a classy 67 in the second innings of the practice game against Leicestershire. This has given his fans hope that he is returning to his best.

It was a welcome moment for Kohli, who has struggled to score big consistently across formats in 2022. He also concerningly recorded three golden ducks during the 2022 Indian Premier League season.

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But speaking on the Sony Sports Network, Virender Sehwag opined that Kohli's form and fortune might have changed during the practice game. He said:

"Do you remember when was the last time, Kohli scored a century? Even I don’t remember. He would definitely want that he scores big in this Edgbaston Test which is the series decider. I think his bad days are over."

Sehwag added:

"Ab lagta hai behtar din ayenge (I think now his better days will come) and they have already started. He has scored fifty in both the innings (33 in first and 67 in second)."

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How crucial is Virat Kohli to India's chances if Rohit Sharma is unavailable?

India's new Test captain Rohit Sharma is still not certain to play in the fifth Test after testing positive for COVID-19. The 35-year-old had an incredible series in England last year, where he scored 368 runs in four Tests.

If he is unavailable, Virat Kohli will become even more important for India as he will be expected to shoulder the burden of scoring the bulk of their runs. The 33-year-old has had his issues outside off stump, but his half-century against Leicestershire will surely give him some confidence going into the game.

India's squad for one-off Test: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Prasidh Krishna and Mayank Agarwal.