"India are obsessed with hundreds" - Gautam Gambhir defends Virat Kohli amid poor form

Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has come out in defence of Virat Kohli amid the latter's poor run of form.

Gambhir said on Sunday that even though the Indian captain hasn't made an international century in a while, he has notched up crucial half-centuries. The former player also observed that the unremitting scrutiny on Virat Kohli stems from the country's 'obsession' with centuries.

Kohli hasn't scored an international hundred since November 2019. In the first T20I against England, he recorded a 5-ball duck, which was his third such score in his last five innings across formats.

However, speaking on Star Sports, Gautam Gambhir pointed to Virat Kohli's gritty 74 against Australia in Adelaide and two fifties in the recently concluded Test series against England that any talk of the Indian captain's poor form is off the mark.

“You’ve got to remember that India have played Test cricket on difficult wickets. Apart from Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant, none of the other batsmen could score consistently in the Tests. And Kohli obviously sets such high standards for himself that we talk about form when he doesn’t score hundreds. He has been scoring fifties. He scored a fifty in Adelaide and also got two fifties against England. Yes, he didn’t get a hundred and perhaps that’s why there’s a lot of debate going around. India are obsessed with hundreds,” said Gautam Gambhir.

Gautam Gambhir opined that Virat Kohli could play more freely in the remaining T20Is because he has dependable players around him.

“And I believe this format is such that it will allow him to play freely. He’s got a Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya, who can take the pressure off him,” said Gautam Gambhir.

"It's part of the journey" - Virat Kohli on his form

After the first T20I, which India lost by eight wickets, Virat Kohli acknowledged his depleting returns but said it is a part of his long journey in international cricket. Kohli also added that he will stay true to his plans and try and come back strongly in the next game.

"It's part of the journey of international cricket. When you play for that long, you have ups and down. On your day, you will end up scoring much more, sometimes it doesn't come off. But the important thing is to stay true to your intent and plans as a batsman and accept that the bowling team can come out and execute their plans better than you. For me, it has always been about going out there and trying to be as positive as I can," said Virat Kohli.

The second T20I between India and England begins in Ahmedabad at 1900 hrs on Sunday.