Virat Kohli vs Deepak Hooda For No. 3 Slot in India’s T20 World Cup Squad? Piyush Chawla Answers

London: Given an opportunity to play at Virat Kohli’s preferred No. 3 spot, Deepak Hooda has made the most of the limited chances he got. Hooda hit a century at Dublin and then followed it with a fifty. He also hit a fifty against Derbyshire in a warm-up game and then a breezy 33 against England – yet he finds himself warming the bench.

So is there a competition between Kohli and Hooda for the No. 3 spot for the T20 World Cup? Ex-India leg-spinner Piyush Chawla answered the question and reckoned such a comment should not be made as the J&K player has played merely 3-4 games.

“Kohli is somebody who’s got a great record. You don’t always go on the present form because that can happen to anyone. And Kohli is just one good innings away. He’ll get that good knock under his belt and he’ll be back in form. Hooda has just played 3-4 games at the international level and when you are walking into a tournament like you need experience. You can’t say it’s Kohli vs Hooda. Kohli is someone who walks into your playing XI straightaway,” he said on ESPNCricinfo.

Kohli was not part of the side in the opening ODI versus England at Oval due to a mild groin injury. Reports suggest Kohli would not be a part of the remaining ODIs.

Hooda would in all likelihood be part of the Indian T20 squad for the West Indies tour. Kohli would be rested and that would give a golden opportunity to Hooda to make a case for himself ahead of the marquee event in Australia.