Pragyan Ojha explains real reason behind Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid backing Virat Kohli ahead of ICC events

Former India captain Virat Kohli is facing a race against time to return to his prime ahead of the T20 World Cup. The modern-day run machine seems to have lost his mojo since he last scored a century in November 2019.

There is growing talk about his place in the T20 format amid a lean patch. But one thing is crystal clear, India skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid are 100 percent confident about Kohli’s return to form.

In a recent interview with journalist Jamie Alter, former India cricketer Pragyan Ojha explained why Rohit and Dravid are continuously backing Virat Kohli.

“When you talk about Virat Kohli, you have to understand the things he has achieved … they are not normal. Getting those 70 hundreds in a span of about 10 years is outstanding.

"Who are the other players who have done that? Not many. That is the reason why Rohit [Sharma], Rahul bhai [Dravid] and the team are backing him."

“His (Virat Kohli's) 50 also counts as a failure because the bar is 100”- Pragyan Ojha

Ojha feels that a player of Kohli’s stature will be key for Team India in the upcoming ICC events. He is not just an experienced cricketer but someone who knows how to convert those 30s and 40s into tons.

“They know that if he gets that one knock, things will turn around and suddenly you will see the old Virat Kohli. And when you have that Virat Kohli in your team and you’re going for the T20 World Cup and then the 50-overs World Cup, any team would do anything to get him. I think it’s just a matter of time."

He further stated:

“See, with cricket, it’s not about mathematics that two plus two is four. You will fail. That’s the beauty of sport. This is Virat Kohli we’re talking about. His conversion rate has been tremendous.

"He used to go to bat and get hundreds and the bar was set so high that now we don’t talk about Virat getting a 30 or 40 … even his 50 also counts as a failure because the bar is 100.”

Ojha also revealed that the only thing that is concerning the India batter right now is the mental aspect of the game.

“When you look at Virat’s batting, it is not about the skill or that he’s not timing it well or his fitness has taken a beating. He’s just there, and I think better than others with his work ethic and discipline. The only thing is that maybe mentally he’s a little caught up somewhere. Maybe that’s why he’s been regularly taking breaks."

Talk about Kohli’s place in Team India gained pace during the recently concluded white-ball series against England. The 33-year-old registered a string of low scores in the recently concluded series against England. He managed scores of 1 and 11 in two T20Is and 6 and 17 in an equal number of ODIs, respectively.

With Kohli rested for the ongoing India tour of the West Indies, there are reports that he might be included for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe, where India will play three ODIs. If that does not happen, he will surely return to the India fold for Asia Cup next month.