'It is bothering me and all of us' - Kapil Dev 'pained' by Virat Kohli's century drought

Former India all-rounder Kapil Dev said that it “pains” him to see Virat Kohli go through a century drought for such a long period. He added that it bothers him that a player who was being compared with Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, or Virender Sehwag, is going through a phase like this.

The former World Cup winner feels that one cannot expect people to stay quiet if a player does not perform for such a long duration. Notably, Kohli has not scored a century for India in all three formats since November 2019.

“It pains me to see such a big player go through such a long gap (with regards to a century). He is like a hero to us,” said Kapil on Uncut.

If you don’t score runs, we feel there is some fault: Kapil Dev

Kohli also had a below-par season in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL), scoring 341 runs in 16 matches at an average below 23. He took some time off cricket following the IPL and was rested for the five-match T20I series against South Africa at home. Kohli will be in action during India’s tour of England, starting on July 1 with the rescheduled fifth Test match, which will be followed by three T20Is and three ODIs.

“We never thought we would witness a player whom we could compare to Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, or Virender Sehwag. But then they came and forced us to compare, and now, since he hasn’t for the last two years, it is bothering me and all of us,” said Kapil.

“We have played cricket and we understand the game, and after that, they have to improve their thought process, not ours. If you prove us wrong, we will like it. If you don’t score runs, we feel there is some fault. We just see one thing, and that’s your performance. And if the performance is not there, don’t expect people to stay quiet. Your bat and your performance should speak, nothing else,” he added.