Asia Cup 2022: "He should have played" - Aakash Chopra on Virat Kohli missing the Zimbabwe series before the tournament

Aakash Chopra believes Virat Kohli should have played the upcoming ODI series against Zimbabwe to regain his form ahead of the Asia Cup 2022.

Team India will lock horns with Zimbabwe in three ODIs, with the first game to be played on August 18. Kohli, who did not play the West Indies series as well, decided to skip these games and instead return to the Indian side only in the Asia Cup to be played in the UAE from August 27.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra was asked if Kohli should have played the ODIs against Zimbabwe. He replied:

"I am saying he should have played. I have advocated this thing a lot - please play, keep on playing, because what else do we have to do other than playing? There is just one job in our life, that is to play."

While acknowledging that breaks in current stressful times are required, Chopra still reckons the modern batting great should have made himself available. The former Indian opener reasoned:

"I understand that because of the bio-bubbles there is a lot of pressure, you come under a lot of stress and all of that. I totally agree - workload management, burnout - but if you are not going through good form and have not played continuous cricket for a long time, you are taking regular breaks, then you could have played these three matches."

Virat Kohli last played for India in the limited-overs series against England. The former Indian skipper managed just 45 runs across his four innings in the white-ball leg of the tour.

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"He is going slightly undercooked" - Aakash Chopra on Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli is likely to bat at No. 3 for Team India in the Asia Cup

Chopra feels Kohli will be slightly underprepared for the Asia Cup. He said:

"When he is going to the Asia Cup now, he is going slightly undercooked. I mean it may still work out because he is an amazing player but the truth is that he is a little undercooked for sure."

Chopra concluded by stating that the Zimbabwe tour might have been a great chance for Kohli to be back amongst the runs. The renowned commentator observed:

"There is nothing better than playing, even if you play against a weak team. Once you get runs, score a century and get the form, you can take as many breaks as you want after that, it does not matter."

Virat Kohli has endured a prolonged lean run over the last couple of years or so. He will hope to address that slump in form at the Asia Cup and put all naysayers to rest ahead of the T20 World Cup later this year.