Asia Cup 2018: Is Resting Virat Kohli a Viable Call by the BCCI?

The BCCI, on Saturday, rested Virat Kohli, as they announced the 16-man India squad for the Asia Cup 2018, scheduled to start on September 15th in the UAE. Meanwhile, the India opener Rohit Sharma was named as the India captain.

However, Virat Kohli has been playing non-stop cricket for a long time now. He indeed required a break before the Australia tour later in the year. The India captain will be hoping to keep himself fit for the 2019 World Cup in England.

Virat rested for Asia Cup 2018

However, getting rest from Asia Cup 2018 might not be the most appropriate decision taken by the BCCI, as arch-rivals, India and Pakistan were scheduled to face off on September 19th.

The impact what Kohli has in the Indian cricket is immense. Hence in a match like India-Pakistan clash, the presence of Virat would have definitely made a huge difference. However, the national selectors decided to give him a break for the six-nation tournament.

Virat Kohli is in the peak form and would have scored some quality runs in the tournament. His presence would have made a difference for the Men in Blue.

The India captain is best batsman across formats

There is no doubt about the fact that Virat Kohli is currently the best modern-day batsman across all three formats of the game. He has been quite superb, and his record in the 50-over format goes onto prove why he is a legend.

In his ten years career so far, Kohli has already scored nearly 10,000 runs. He is also 2^nd on the list for the most number of centuries in the ODI’s with 35 behind his name. By the time he calls it quits from international cricket, Kohli is expected to make most of the batting records of his own.

When a batsman is in form and scoring runs as consistently as Kohli does in international cricket, then he shouldn’t be rested. The break sometimes tends to disrupt the flow of the batting. Hence it might not be the greatest of decisions by BCCI to give him a rest.

India haven’t played against Pakistan since the Champions Trophy final last year

More importantly, India hasn’t played against Pakistan since the heavy defeat they suffered during the Champions Trophy final last year. Given the stature of Virat, he would have backed himself and team India to take revenge in the upcoming tournament.

However, his absence will give Pakistan an edge. They have played most of their home matches in the UAE and Dubai. Hence, they know the conditions well and will start as the favourites.

The BCCI selectors thought that after a busy schedule for the last year or so, Kohli’s body needs some rest. He might have gone to the selectors himself and had asked for a break. However, he will like to make sure that the break doesn’t disrupt the flow of the run-scoring machine.

Team India starts of the tournament with the match against the qualifying side on 18^th September followed by the match against arch-rivals Pakistan the very next day. It is expected to be an exciting tournament with six teams slated to take part.