The cricket world was abuzz when Virat Kohli, India's premier batsman, announced his retirement from T20I cricket after leading India to a triumphant T20 World Cup victory in June. The cricketing maestro made his much-anticipated return to international cricket in the ongoing ODI series against Sri Lanka. However, his performances in the first two matches have fallen short of expectations.

In the initial two ODIs, Kohli managed to score just 24 and 14 runs respectively, leaving fans and critics puzzled. Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali expressed his surprise at Kohli's struggles, especially against spin bowlers, during this series. According to Basit, Kohli’s back-to-back LBW dismissals in both matches were uncharacteristic of a batsman of his caliber.

In a recent video on his YouTube channel, Basit Ali remarked, "A great batsman like Virat Kohli, the world's number one batsman, has been out LBW twice. It's understandable if it happens to Iyer or Dube, but Virat Kohli is Virat Kohli. This means that he is not in practice."

Basit Ali also highlighted the lack of preparation from other key Indian players, including Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, who were not part of the T20I series and seemed underprepared for the challenging conditions.

"It did not seem that this is the batting lineup which rules the world. I feel that Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul probably haven't even practiced. These people have come without practice," Basit said.

Ali further recommended reevaluating the current batting lineup, which includes Iyer and Rahul, and calling for the inclusion of younger players like Rishabh Pant, Riyan Parag, and Rinku Singh.

"I don't understand what is Shreyas Iyer going to do with such performances. I think the time has come for Rishabh Pant, Riyan Parag, and Rinku Singh. India's 50-over domestic tournament will be vital for Gautam Gambhir because he will have to take some players from there. If India pick players based on reputation, the results won't be too good in the Champions Trophy," he further stated.