Virat Kohli should’ve gone to WI opines 1983 World Cup winner Balvinder Sandhu

Has the axe finally fallen on Virat Kohli or has the rundeprived star India batsman been rested for the upcoming West Indies tour The BCCI didnrsquot tell us that in their press releaseBCCI secretary Jay Shah and chief selector Chetan Sharma did not respond to messages from this correspondent seeking clarity on Kohlirsquos noninclusionKohlirsquos name did not figure in the ODI squad for the three ODIs in the West Indies announced on July 6 as well as in Thursdayrsquos team announcement for the three T20 internationals in the CaribbeanSir Vivian RichardslsquoRestrsquo is a term often used instead of lsquodroppedrsquo as seen in the last few years starting with the mysterious noninclusion of MS Dhoni before he hung his boots from international cricketFuture bleakWith the T20 World Cup in Australia just a few months away Kohlirsquos noninclusion begs the question as to whether he is in the selectorsrsquo scheme of things for the mega tournamentBalvinder Singh Sandhu a member of Indiarsquos 1983 World Cup team felt Kohli should have been on the plane to the West Indies as playing there would have helped him rediscover his mojoBalvinder Singh SandhuldquoThe man who was not in form went to England and played on seaming tracks which are not easy to score runs on The wickets in the West Indies are much better to bat on the best place to get back to form The ball comes onto the bat nicely and you can play your shots and get back your form your confidencerdquo Sandhu who has coached at multiple levels told middayAlso Read Break will do Virat Kohli good feels Ashish NehraKohli 33 has suffered a prolonged lean patch with his last international century coming in 2019 during the daynight Test against Bangladesh in Kolkata A groin injury made him miss the first ODI v England but he was back for the second contest at Lordrsquos on ThursdaySandhu felt Kohli must utilise the break from international duty astutely ldquoHe needs someone who can guide him and show him the areas he needs to work on Bowlers have developed a strategy of how to get him out Now the ball is in his court and he has to produce a counter strategy because the bowlers are not going to change their tactics Virat should play his shots because he is a strokemaker Playing his range of shots gives him confidence When an attacking player becomes defensive he is bound to make a wrong judgment of shot selection at that momentrdquo said SandhuConsult Sir VivSandhu reckoned Kohli should consult Sir Vivian Richards to sort out his batting woes ldquoThere is a lot of cricket left in him Kohli He is an entertainer He is like Viv Richards Vivian had the ability to flick an outside the off stump ball to the square leg or play a straight drive or hit the same ball to midwicket But if the ball is just short of length he would go back and cut That is how he never allowed the bowlers to dominate He should speak to Richards about tackling his problems He should also watch videos on how Richards batted in English conditionsrdquo signed off Sandhu For the record the man from Antigua smashed 3402 international runs in 55 games on English soilBumrah Yuzi restedJasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal were on Thursday rested from the five T20Is against the West Indies to be played in the Caribbean and the US from July 29 K L Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav were picked subject to fitness R Ashwin also made a comeback