Former Indian cricketer and 1983 World Cup winner Kirti Azad slammed BCCI secretary Jay Shah for getting involved in the selection process for India T20 World Cup squad, particularly regarding Virat Kohli's availability for the showpiece event.
It has been reported that Virat Kohli won't be selected to the India squad for the T20 World Cup 2024, which is slated to place in West Indies and USA in June. The reports suggested that Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) feels that Kohli's batting won't suit on slow pitches in USA, thus he will be excluded from the squad.
Virat Kohli's unlikelihood to play the upcoming T20 World Cup sparked storm and debate on social media as many believe that India's talismanic batter's presence in the team is crucial for the Men in Blue, who are hoping to end the 11-year drought of winning an ICC tournament.
Kirti Azad labels Jay Shah as a 'Nincompoop'
Taking to his X handle (formerly Twitter), Kirit Azad slammed Jay Shah for getting involved in the selection process by reportedly giving responsibility to chief selector Ajit Agarkar to convince the selection committee that Kohli won't be added to T20 World Cup squad.
The 1983 World Cup winner is confident of Kohli playing the T20 World Cup, while adding that Jay Shah should stay away from the selection process while picking the squad for the event.
"Why should Jay Shah, he is not a selector, to give responsibility to Ajit Agarkar to talk to the other selectors and convince them that Virat Kohli is not getting a place in the T20 team. For this, time was given till 15th March. If sources are to be believed, Ajit Agarkar was neither able to convince himself nor the other selectors." Azad wrote on X.
"Jay Shah asked Rohit Sharma too but Rohit said we need Virat Kohli at any cost. Virat Kohli will play the T20 World Cup and its official announcement will be made before the team selection. Nincompoops should not invovle themselves in selection process." he added.
Virat Kohli played five editions of the T20 World Cup since 2012. After India's exit from the T20 World Cup 2022 following semifinal defeat to eventual champions England, Kohli took a break from the shortest format in order to focus on Tests and ODI, keeping in mind the WTC Final and ODI World Cup last year.
Kohli alongside skipper Rohit Sharma made his return to T20Is during the three-match T20I series at home. His return might have indicated that former India captain is in selectors' radar for the T20 World Cup squad.
Virat Kohli is leading run-scorer in T20 World Cup
Virat Kohli holds the record for the being leading run-getter in the history of the T20 World Cup. The 35-year-old has amassed 1141 runs, including 14 fifties, at an average of 81.5 and a strike rate of 131.5 in 27 matches.
Kohli surpassed former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene's previous record of 1016 runs during 64-run knock against Bangladesh in the last edition of the T20 World Cup. The former India captain has been batting mainstays for Team India for over the years in T20Is.
Virat Kohli is not more of an attacking batter but provides a crucial support at the top by playing according to the circumstances of the match. He had often stepped up at crucial situation for the team and turned the game around. This can be evidenced during his unbeaten 82-run knock against arch-rivals Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2022.
Interestingly, Kohli is the leading run-scorer in T20is, amassing 4037 runs, including a century and 37 fifties, at an average of 51.75 in 117 matches. He is the only with minimum of 2000 runs to have a batting average of above 50 in T20Is.
