Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali made a controversial statement about Virat Kohli’s recent struggles as preparations intensified for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Kohli, as expected, retained his place in the Indian squad for the main event.
However, the big question is whether the former captain of the Indian cricket team has put his poor form behind him and led the batting line-up from the front in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which is scheduled to start on February 19 in Karachi, Pakistan.
Basit Ali says Virat Kohli’s decision to miss the England Tests was a turning point for him
The right-handed batsman’s recent poor form with the bat is a cause for concern, as he could manage just 190 runs in nine innings at an average of 23.75 in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 against Australia. Before the Australian tour, Kohli had scored 192 runs at an average of 19.2 in five home Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand.
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Now, Virat Kohli’s place in the Indian cricket team is under heavy scrutiny and his performance in the upcoming three-match ODI series against England at home will be under the radar as the national selectors take up the call-up for the 36-year-old batsman after the 2025 Champions Trophy. .
Amid a heated debate over the Indian batting icon’s struggles and place in the team, Basit Ali has shockingly blamed Virat Kohli’s second child, Akaay, for his problems with the bat. In fact, Kohli missed the five-match Test series against England last year at home due to the birth of Akaay.
Virat Kohli would have been a different player if he had played against England: Basit Ali
The former Pakistan cricketer believes things would have been different had Virat Kohli played in that Test series as the pitches were good for batting on the first two days and he could have easily found his mode in home conditions and things would not have been so difficult for him .
In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Basit Ali said, “If Virat Kohli had played the Test series against England and had not missed it due to the birth of his son, he would have been a different player. The pitches were great for the first two days before they started to break.”
Meanwhile, the former Pakistan coach also reacted to the exclusion of Sanju Samson and Karun Nair from India’s squad for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. He attacked India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir and the selectors for not keeping their word regarding domestic cricket.
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Basit Ali criticizes India’s decision to leave out Sanja Samson and Karun Nair from the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy squad.
Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul have been picked ahead of Sanju Samson as wicketkeepers for the eight-nation tournament despite the Kerala batsman smashing three T20I centuries last year. On the other hand, Karun Nair’s 779 runs in the recent Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 was not enough to get him into the Indian team.
Basit Ali emphasized that both Sanju Samson and Karun Nair should have been picked in the 2025 Champions Trophy squad while mentioning the Vidarbha captain’s VHT heroics. He signed off saying, “Nair and Samson have earned a place. Rohit [actually it was Gautam Gambhir] spoke about the importance of domestic cricket. Nair performed in domestic plays.”
