Former England spinner Monty Panesar has made a shocking prediction with regard to the Indian Test team, as he remarked that the captain could lose his spot in the side. Virat Kohli’s struggles to make a century over the past two years have been well documented, and it is no secret that it is his Test match form that has taken the brunt of his patchy run. His last century came against Bangladesh in the day/night Test at Kolkata in late 2019.
Although there are currently no threats to Kohli’s place in the side, Panesar felt that another poor run of form could see his place in the squad slip away. India are currently in South Africa for a three-match Test series, and Kohli would be looking to make a few runs and end the year on a high, especially after he was forced to relinquish captaincy in the One-Day side, after making a decision to step down from the shortest format before the T20 World Cup. Panesar also acknowledged Kohli’s stature, as he continues to average well above 50 despite the lack of form in recent times.
“I think he (Kohli) will be very motivated because he knows that if he does not score a lot of runs in Test cricket then that position could be up for grabs as well. So, he is under pressure to perform but he needs to do well and actually get some wins.
Panesar said in an interview with an Indian news agency.
Panesar also felt that Virat must keep winning a series in South Africa at the top of the list of priorities, and that his batting form will follow. Considering that the team is winning even though the 33-year-old is not in the best of form, Panesar was of the opinion that Kohli’s batting needn’t be the primary concern.
“Even India are winning when he does not score the runs (which) still is a positive for Virat Kohli because he knows how to get the best out of an individual.
So, he needs to put that aside now and think about how to win in South Africa which is far more important and that is what I think BCCI wants from him. He wants to get the best eleven out there to win this,”
Panesar was quoted as saying.
Panesar, however, saw eye-to-eye with the BCCI and was in favour of Virat being forced to drop his captaincy in ODIs as well. With a plethora of ICC tournaments coming up in the near future, the left-arm spinner felt that it was best that Rohit Sharma leads the white-ball sides, while Kohli remained Test captain.
“Two big tournaments are coming up with the T20 World Cup and also the World Cup in India (and this) is the best time to have a white-ball captain and let (Kohli) focus on Test duties,”
Panesar said.
The former England international also noted that this series could be India’s best shot at winning a series against the Proteas in their own backyard, considering that the South African side is going through somewhat of a rebuild.
