'Don't judge Kohli by his form in IPL'

India skipper Dilip Vengesarkar threw his weight behind the run-machine, who earlier this year became first Indian captain to win Test and bilateral ODI series in Australia.

Hyderabad: India and RCB captain Virat Kohli is going through a tough phase of his career losing 11 matches in a row, six in IPL 2019. Kohli's RCB is yet to win a match in IPL 2019. Following their four-wicket defeat to Delhi Capitals, RCB became the first team in IPL to suffer defeat in six consecutive matches after the start of a season.

Before the IPL 2019 begun India have had lost two T20Is and three ODIs under Kohli. Notwithstanding, questions have been asked on Kohli's captaincy skills. At the same time, Kohli played 33-ball 41 runs innings at a strike-rate of 126 against DC. When his captaincy and declining batting form drew flak from cricket pundits former India skipper Dilip Vengesarkar threw his weight behind the run-machine, who earlier this year became first Indian captain to win Test and bilateral ODI series in Australia.

“IPL performances cannot be the criteria to judge anyone. Virat is in excellent form. He is one of the great batsmen of all time and, as a captain, he is evolving. Once you put your faith in him, you must back him 100 %. He has done well in Tests and ODIs,” the former chief selector said.

With the World Cup is just around the corner Kohli will definitely be under the scanner. Considering India's exploits in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand in the ODIs they have been regarded as one of the biggest contenders for the title.

File image: Twitter

But, RCB's constant failure under Kohli's captaincy raised concern among the Indian cricket fraternity. However, Vengsarkar is not a worried man at all. “India have a chance to reach the last four. We have the best (bowling) attack so far. If we compare our attack to the previous teams at the World Cup, this is better than ever. That’s why we have hope. When India did badly, it was because of the last 10 overs where we were unable to contain the rival batsmen. Now, with (Jasprit) Bumrah and the others, it’s formidable,” said Vengsarkar.

'Batting in England is never easy'

Talking about batting in England, where the ball moves viciously under the overcast conditions, Vengsarkar said it is never easy to score runs there. The former right-hand batsman said hosts England and Australia are the favourites, but if Indian batsmen adapt to the conditions well they could live up to the billing.

“Virat is in great form. Rohit remains a class act. But you cannot depend on these two batsmen alone. The others must contribute too. If they get out early, there will be pressure on the others. They should be able to sustain the pressure.”

Shedding light on no. 4 in the Indian team, Vengsarkar said, “There are a lot of them who are good enough. KL Rahul or Ajinkya Rahane are good, then there is Mayank Agarwal who did so well in Australia. I am surprised that he is not around. These three could be good choices but don’t judge anyone based on what they do in the IPL,” he said.