Virat Kohli has been rested for the five-match T20I series against the West Indies, which will take place between July 29 and August 7. Other regular players who will not take part in the contest are Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal as KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav return to the set-up, subject to their fitness. 

With five months left for the T20 World Cup that will be held in Australia, Kohli’s exclusion from the West Indies T20Is has drawn several reactions on social media. The former India captain has been struggling to get runs in the format. He registered scores of 1 and 11 against England in the two games he played. In the 14 T20Is he has played since 2021, the 33-year-old has scored 380 runs at a strike rate of 122.81 and average of 20.12. He is ranked 25th on the batting charts. 

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“So the improbable has happened, @imVkohli has been dropped from the T20Is against West Indies. Would have never imagined i would be typing this #viratkohli,” a Twitter user said. 

“BCCI has started to sideline Virat Kohli. In nets today, he looked fitter than any other player in the squad. He isn’t part of 18 members squad against West Indies either. He is the master of the game. He shouldn’t receive the cold response owing to his bad form,” another one tweeted. 

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Virat Kohli is also likely to miss the 2nd ODI vs England at the Lord’s Stadium, London on Thursday. He was left out of the first one after sustaining a groin niggle. 

While skipper Rohit Sharma has said that the team management is backing Kohli for his quality, a question is: How many matches does he have to get back in form before the T20 World Cup?

Only the Asia Cup. 

The West Indies tour will be followed by the Asia Cup, where India will face Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, UAE and Afghanistan. Virat Kohli, if included in the squad for the T20 tournament, will have a maximum of seven matches to get back in form. The tournament starts on August 27 and will go on till September 11.