Virat Kohli gearing up for the 2022 Asia Cup
Indian cricketer Virat Kohli will be raring to set the stage ablaze in the much-coveted Asia Cup, starting August 27. The number three batter was seen training hard for the tourney in an Instagram story posted by him on Thursday. Kohli has been on a break post the England tour. Team India would be hoping the former returns to scoring ways. Here's more.
Kohli's off to a running start 🏃♂️ pic.twitter.com/77PJoQM2EF
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) August 11, 2022
Kohli has ruled the Asia Cup events. The talented batter stacked up 153 runs across four innings in the 2016 edition of the tournament. He was noted for his clutch knocks of 49(51) versus Pakistan, and later, a 28-ball 41* against Bangladesh in the final. As for the 50-overs, Kohli has managed 613 runs at 61.30 (100s: 3).
Kohli, who is the highest run-getter in IPL (6,624), had a dry run for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the recently-concluded season. He managed 341 runs while averaging a mere 22.73. Not to forget, he struck at a modest rate of 115.98. He recorded three ducks. Kohli notched two fifties, with one of them coming in a losing cause (53-ball 58 vs Gujarat Titans).
Kohli was rested for the three T20Is against Sri Lanka in February. Kohli didn't feature in the five-match series against South Africa and the two T20I duels versus Ireland held post IPL. He was rested for the entire tour of the Caribbean Islands comprising three ODIs and five T20Is. And now, he will be missing the Zimbabwe tour, commencing on August 18.
Kohli has scored 476 runs in 16 matches played across formats in international cricket. He averages a meek 25.05 with four half-centuries. The 33-year-old's best numbers were in South Africa as he amassed 224 runs at 44.80. He fared poorly in the England tour, compiling only 76 runs at 12.66. His last six knocks in internationals read 11, 20, 1, 11, 16, and 17.
Kohli last played an international on July 17. While the run machine returns to action, the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel miss out owing to injuries. The duo is currently undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. Rohit Sharma will captain the Men in Blue with KL Rahul as his deputy. Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, and Axar Patel are standbys.
India's squad for Asia Cup: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan.
India are the most successful side in the Asia Cup in terms of titles. They have won the tournament seven times (1984, 1988, 1990/91, 1995, 2010, 2016, and 2018). India were crowned champions of the only Asia Cup edition that was played in T20I format (2016). The Men in Blue led by former Indian captain MS Dhoni were unbeaten in that tournament.
The Men in Blue will be up against Pakistan on August 28 in Dubai. India have a win-loss record of 8-5 against Pakistan in the Asia Cup (ODIs and T20Is). The Men in Blue are unbeaten against them in the last three Asia Cup matches.
