'You can watch it on replay, but you're gone Virat': Waqar roasts Kohli on air after dismissal
Pakistan legend Waqar Younis roasted Virat Kohli, after he fell to Shaheen Shah Afridi during India's Asia Cup opener vs Pakistan.
Virat Kohli failed to get off to a perfect start in India's Asia Cup 2023 opener against Pakistan, at Pallekele on Saturday. The veteran batter was dismissed for only four runs off seven deliveries, failing to deal with the rampaging Pakistan pace battery.
After the match resumed due to rain delay in the fifth over, India got off to a stuttering restart, losing captain Rohit Sharma in the final delivery of the fifth over. Receiving a length ball from Shaheen Shah Afridi, Rohit failed to connect as it nipped past his defence and crashed against off-stump. Rohit could only look in dismay as he walked back to the pavilion with India faltering at 15/1 in five overs.
After Rohit's departure, Kohli arrived, with much of the expectations lying on his shoulders. The former batter had a nervy first over against Naseem Shah, also hitting a four in the process. The pacer conceded five runs and a total of 11 in that over.
But in the seventh over of the innings, Pakistan captain Babar Azam sent Shaheen, the leader of his side's pace attack. Shaheen conceded a single off Shubman Gill in the first ball, followed by a dot ball against Kohli. But then in the next ball, Shaheen silenced Kohli with a sensational delivery. The 23-year-old sent a short of a length delivery, outside off. Kohli tried to punch it through the off-side, but ended up inside edging it to his own stumps! It proved to be the same old story as Shaheen ripped apart India's top order, with India crawling at 27/1.
Kohli's reaction summed up the dismissal, as he walked back in complete disappointment. Such was the impact of the dismissal, that even Pakistan legend Waqar Younis, who is the commentator, roasted Kohli and said, "You can watch it on replay, but you're gone Virat."
For their Asia Cup opener, India fielded two spinners in Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja. Meanwhile, Rohit also went with three pacers, including Jasprit Bumrah, who made his comeback in the recent Ireland T20Is. Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer made his return after a lengthy absence due to injury and Shardul Thakur replaced Mohammed Shami.
Speaking about his team's objective in the tournament, which also serves as a preparatory event for the upcoming ODI World Cup, Rohit said after toss, "Got to play good cricket, you need to embrace the challenge, embrace the situation. We had some time off after the West Indies series. Everyone was up for those drills and challenges in Bangalore. Let's see what we can achieve in this tournament. It's a quality tournament with quality oppositions. At the end of the day we need to see what we can achieve as a team."