'Averages 50 at almost 140' - Usman Khawaja takes a jibe at Kapil Dev's comment on Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli’s name is always in the news, whether he scores runs or not, and his recent batting slump has caused a worldwide stir. Former Indian captain Kapil Dev has even questioned his place in the Indian T20I squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia, and in a latest social media post, Australia’s Usman Khwaja has taken a sly dig at the former Indian cricketer’s comments.

Earlier this week, Kapil Dev remarked that Kohli’s place in the T20I squad is not guaranteed, and the team management should look at giving young in-form players more chances rather than going with the reputation of players. He spoke about the 33-year-old batter in particular and advised the team management to look at other options if he continues failing for the Indian team.

His comments agitated the Indian batter’s former coach, Rajkumar Sharma, who hit back at the Indian legend by highlighting Kohli’s 70 centuries in international cricket, which is no mean feat. Meanwhile, ICC posted a snippet of the Kapil’s comment on Instagram, which garnered a response from Australia’s Usman Khawaja. The southpaw commented on the post with a sarcastic tone, “averages 50 at almost 140. Good call. Australia Agrees.”

The Aussie opener’s comment accentuates the threat of India’s star batter in the format and the value he would add to the squad in the T20 World Cup. Khawaja implied that the Australian team would prefer to face a Kohli-less Indian team in the tournament.

Virat Kohli has a phenomenal record against the defending T20 world champions

The Indian stalwart, who averages an astonishing 50.60 in the format, is the third-highest run-getter in T20Is with 3297 runs to his name. The Australian’s remarks were valid as the Indian right-hand batter like playing against the Men in Yellow and has scored 718 runs, his highest against any opponent at a remarkable average of 59.83. Out of those 718 runs, 451 came in Australia, the venue for the ICC mega event later this year.