"King Kohli will roar again" - Fans split on whether Virat Kohli should play in 2nd IND vs ENG T20I at Edgbaston

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Some fans are excited to see Rohit Sharma (L) and Virat Kohli bat together. (P.C.:BCCI)

Virat Kohli is one of quite a few senior players who will be back in India's squad for the final two T20Is against England. Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer and Ravindra Jadeja were part of the one-off Test against England at Edgbaston before being rested for the first T20I.

However, with the T20 World Cup round the corner, the selectors will be keen to include these big names in the playing XI with a view to shortlisting their final squad. Kohli, in particular, didn't have the greatest of IPL 2022 seasons, scoring just 341 runs from 16 games at an average of below 23.

Moreover, the likes of Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Deepak Hooda have done really well in the chances that they have got in the shortest format. So there is a debate on who will make way for Kohli in the playing XI for the second game at Edgbaston on Saturday.

While many fans on Twitter are excited to see Virat Kohli play white-ball cricket for India after more than three months, some feel it will be unfair on the existing players in the XI to miss out on a place. Here are some of the reactions:

tanya

@ch3rryw8n3

No because he has a place in World T20 XI. Ungrateful endians don't deserve someone like Virat Kohli twitter.com/ESPNcricinfo/s…

ESPNcricinfo

@ESPNcricinfo

Does Virat Kohli have a place in India’s best T20I XI?

66

6

Does Virat Kohli have a place in India’s best T20I XI?

No because he has a place in World T20 XI. Ungrateful endians don't deserve someone like Virat Kohli twitter.com/ESPNcricinfo/s…

azamgarh wallah..

@hopeless_wizard

He should rested...
There are other players(in form) too
Now We watch cricket to win trophy not for winning hearts like rcb🙂 twitter.com/ESPNcricinfo/s…

ESPNcricinfo

@ESPNcricinfo

Does Virat Kohli have a place in India’s best T20I XI?

3411

101

Does Virat Kohli have a place in India’s best T20I XI?

He should rested...
There are other players(in form) too
Now We watch cricket to win trophy not for winning hearts like rcb🙂 twitter.com/ESPNcricinfo/s…

Param Jain

@pune109

Virat Kohli is the best t20I batter ever. We should be shameful if we question his place in t20 xi. His stellar wc 2012,14,16 are a bold statement that he is the best in the business.

@Abhinandan673 twitter.com/espncricinfo/s…

ESPNcricinfo

@ESPNcricinfo

Does Virat Kohli have a place in India’s best T20I XI?

1

101

Does Virat Kohli have a place in India’s best T20I XI?

Virat Kohli is the best t20I batter ever. We should be shameful if we question his place in t20 xi. His stellar wc 2012,14,16 are a bold statement that he is the best in the business.

@Abhinandan673 twitter.com/espncricinfo/s…

ARYAN_OP™

@ARYAN__OP

Bcci sources have conveyed the message that Bcci and management is now all set to drop any player from the team if performance doesn't comes no matter how big the name is for the preparation of World Cup ~(To Sports Tak)

29

5

Bcci sources have conveyed the message that Bcci and management is now all set to drop any player from the team if performance doesn't comes no matter how big the name is for the preparation of World Cup ~(To Sports Tak)

Cheeku.

@primeKohli

G.O.A.T will bat today

188

16

G.O.A.T will bat today ⚡ https://t.co/1S1sQKHRCO

Johns.

@CricCrazyJohns

Rohit & Virat combo is back from today.

3493

278

Rohit & Virat combo is back from today. https://t.co/5z08bv2NMo

Vinesh Prabhu

@vlp1994

DEFINITELY YES! twitter.com/ESPNcricinfo/s…

ESPNcricinfo

@ESPNcricinfo

Does Virat Kohli have a place in India’s best T20I XI?

3

101

Does Virat Kohli have a place in India’s best T20I XI?

DEFINITELY YES! twitter.com/ESPNcricinfo/s…

Jaanvi🏏

@ThatCric8Girl

2 classy cover drives tonight and then gone for 10(9). twitter.com/RCBTweets/stat…

Royal Challengers Bangalore

@RCBTweets

Virat Kohli and milestones. Name a better combination.

#PlayBold #ENGvIND #TeamIndia

25

289

Virat Kohli and milestones. Name a better combination. 😎

#PlayBold #ENGvIND #TeamIndia https://t.co/pt2XCEik9o

2 classy cover drives tonight and then gone for 10(9). twitter.com/RCBTweets/stat…

Vighnesh17

@VighneshMenon

GOAT plays cricket today

19

GOAT plays cricket today https://t.co/2t9n7yQW3q

Garvit🇮🇳

@4everVirat

These two will Comeback

1255

73

These two will Comeback 💙♥️ https://t.co/vpt1vUewSg

CricketMAN2

@ImTanujSingh

Tommorow - India vs England 2nd T20I match. And Virat Kohli, Bumrah, Pant, Shreyas will returns in the squad and it will be interesting to see what is the playing XI of team India. It is going to be very Difficult for captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid to take decisons.

2700

120

Tommorow - India vs England 2nd T20I match. And Virat Kohli, Bumrah, Pant, Shreyas will returns in the squad and it will be interesting to see what is the playing XI of team India. It is going to be very Difficult for captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid to take decisons.

CricketMAN2

@ImTanujSingh

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma - Heart and soul of Indian cricket return from tommorow together.

3019

216

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma - Heart and soul of Indian cricket return from tommorow together. https://t.co/VYSWtEQ38I

Jyran

@Jyran45

His last T20I innings was against West Indies 5 months ago.

After that :

3 ODIs Vs West Indies:8,18,0
2 Tests Vs Srilanka :45,_,23,13
IPL 2022:
Matches-16
Runs- 341
Average-22
SR-115
1 Test Vs England: 11,20

But but Virat isn't out of form,he has set the standard too high 🤡 twitter.com/mufaddal_vohra…

Mufaddal Vohra

@mufaddal_vohra

Virat Kohli in last 12 innings in T20is:

Runs - 493.
Average - 61.62.
Strike Rate - 135.43.
Fifties - 6.

5

2

Virat Kohli in last 12 innings in T20is:

Runs - 493.
Average - 61.62.
Strike Rate - 135.43.
Fifties - 6.

His last T20I innings was against West Indies 5 months ago.

After that :

3 ODIs Vs West Indies:8,18,0
2 Tests Vs Srilanka :45,_,23,13
IPL 2022:
Matches-16
Runs- 341
Average-22
SR-115
1 Test Vs England: 11,20

But but Virat isn't out of form,he has set the standard too high 🤡 twitter.com/mufaddal_vohra…

ANUJ SHARMA 💙

@Rohit45SHARMA10

OUT OF FORM VIRAT 🤣🤣
#Jokeoftheyear
KING KOHLI will ROAR AGAIN 🦁 🤩 twitter.com/mufaddal_vohra…

Mufaddal Vohra

@mufaddal_vohra

Virat Kohli in last 12 innings in T20is:

Runs - 493.
Average - 61.62.
Strike Rate - 135.43.
Fifties - 6.

3

1029

Virat Kohli in last 12 innings in T20is:

Runs - 493.
Average - 61.62.
Strike Rate - 135.43.
Fifties - 6.

OUT OF FORM VIRAT 😭🤣🤣
#Jokeoftheyear
KING 👑 KOHLI will ROAR AGAIN 🦁 🤩 twitter.com/mufaddal_vohra…

Aditya Singh Chauhan

@__ascii__

Pure dil se hate bhi nahi kar paata hun iss aadmi ko twitter.com/mufaddal_vohra…

Mufaddal Vohra

@mufaddal_vohra

Virat Kohli in last 12 innings in T20is:

Runs - 493.
Average - 61.62.
Strike Rate - 135.43.
Fifties - 6.

5

1

Virat Kohli in last 12 innings in T20is:

Runs - 493.
Average - 61.62.
Strike Rate - 135.43.
Fifties - 6.

Pure dil se hate bhi nahi kar paata hun iss aadmi ko 😭 twitter.com/mufaddal_vohra…

Nihit

@Proteinxxx_

Out of these 12,5 were in Eng 2021 series. Virat Kohli post that series:

T20is(5innings): 137 runs
Avg:34.2
S/R: 112.3

IPL 2021 & 2022: 746 runs
Avg: 25.7
S/R: 117.9 twitter.com/mufaddal_vohra…

Mufaddal Vohra

@mufaddal_vohra

Virat Kohli in last 12 innings in T20is:

Runs - 493.
Average - 61.62.
Strike Rate - 135.43.
Fifties - 6.

15698

1030

Virat Kohli in last 12 innings in T20is:

Runs - 493.
Average - 61.62.
Strike Rate - 135.43.
Fifties - 6.

Out of these 12,5 were in Eng 2021 series. Virat Kohli post that series:

T20is(5innings): 137 runs
Avg:34.2
S/R: 112.3

IPL 2021 & 2022: 746 runs
Avg: 25.7
S/R: 117.9 twitter.com/mufaddal_vohra…

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Who will Virat Kohli replace in India's XI?

India have quite a few decisions to make as the likes of Kohli, Pant, Bumrah and even Jadeja look certain to come into the playing XI. As far as Jadeja and Bumrah are concerned, they seem set to come in place of Axar Patel and Arshdeep Singh respectively.

However, it will be interesting to see who will be left out to accommodate Kohli and Pant. One way or the other, there will definitely be quite a few eyebrows raised when the playing XI is announced.

India’s squad for 2nd and 3rd T20Is: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik

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