Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardena has shared his thoughts on the much-talked-about poor form of Indian superstar Virat Kohli.
Notably, Kohli has been going through a rough patch in international cricket. Runs have dried up for former India skipper form for a long time now, with his last international century coming back in 2019.
The 33-year-old had struggled to make an impact in the rearranged Test and T20I series against England. Following this, the Delhi-lad was given rest for the recently-concluded West Indies series and the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe.
Jayawardena, however, reckoned that Kohli is a quality player and will find a way to make a comeback. The Mumbai Indians (MI) head coach felt that Kohli’s class is still permanent.
“It is unfortunate what Virat is going through right now at the moment, but he is a quality player,” Jayawardena told Sanjana Ganesan on the latest episode of The ICC Review.
“I believe Virat has the tools to come out of it (the form slump). He has done that in the past as well, and I’m sure he’ll come through this. Class is permanent, and form is temporary,” he added.
Jayawardena also observed wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant as a capable top-order batter even though Pant hasn’t played as an opener in T20 cricket a lot.
“Even though he (Pant) hasn’t done that (open the batting) much in domestic cricket, he has the capacity to do that. Wherever he bats, you’re not going to change his game. He is going to be a very natural player, so yes, it is an option (for Pant to open),” added Jayawardena.
