Usman Khawaja mocks Kapil Dev’s ‘bench Virat Kohli in T20Is’ remark with sarcastic reply

The legendary Kapil Dev has created quite the stir with his infamous comments on Virat Kohli, where he said that if the star India batter is not scoring runs, it might not be a bad idea to leave him out of the T20I set-up and give chances to youngsters. Kapil said that if a bowler like R Ashwin, who is ranked No. 2 in Tests in the world is not finding a place in the Indian Test XI overseas, the same should be applicable to Kohli, who scored 303 runs in IPL 2022, and produced scores of 1 and 11 in the two T20Is against England.

“Play in-form players when you have loads of options. You can’t just go by reputation, but you have to look for current form. You can be an established player but that doesn’t mean that you will be given chances even if you fail five games in a row. Yes, there will be a headache, but he will have to perform better. If world No. 2 Test bowler Ashwin can be dropped from Test side then your No. 1 batter can also be dropped,” Kapil had told ABP News.

“I hope Kohli scores runs. And if there’s a [selection] challenge after that, it’s a big one. At the moment, Virat Kohli isn’t playing like the Kohli we know, the one that has made him a legend through his performances. If he isn’t performing, you can’t continue to keep these boys [youngsters] out. I hope there’s a healthy fight for selection, the youngsters should look to outperform Kohli. But Kohli needs to think, ‘yes at one point I was a big player, but I need to play like that No. 1 player again’. That’s a problem for the team, it’s not a bad problem.”

Kapil’s remark generated quite a bit of controversy as many downplayed the former India World Cup winning captain’s opinion. Australia batter Usman Khawaja has taken a sarcastic take on the legendary Kapil’s comments. The ICC on its Instagram page shared a graphic of Kapil’s quotes, to which Khawaja posted a cheeky reply, which said: “Averages 50 at almost 140. Good call. Australia Agrees,” with a couple of tears of laughter emojis.

Usman Khawaja responded to ICC’s Instagram post. (ICC/Instagram)

After India’s 3rd T20I, during a press conference, when a reporter asked Rohit Sharma about Kapil’s remark on Kohli, the India captain said, “He is watching the game from outside and does not know what is happening inside. We have our thought process. We build our team and behind this, there is a lot of thinking. We back the boys and give them opportunities. So, these things you do not get to know from outside. So, whatever is happening outside is not important but what is happening inside is more important for us.”

Kohli will next be seen in the three ODIs against England starting tomorrow. Many believe that the ODIs is the best format at the moment for Kohli to get back his rhythm since there will be not pressure of going after the bowling from ball one.

With Thanks Refrence to: https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/india-vs-england-usman-khawaja-mocks-kapil-dev-s-bench-virat-kohli-in-t20is-remark-with-sarcastic-reply-101657523549485.html