Virat Kohli is arguably the greatest batsman of the modern generation but a disappointing loss in the World Test Championship final has daunted his reputation immensely.

His batting and leadership were the reasons why India made it to the final of the inaugural WTC but the defeat against New Zealand has made him the villain in the eyes of many fans, who have been demanding his resignation.

© Twitter/ICC

Former Indian opener turned cricket analyst Aakash Chopra picked up his WTC XI which could give Kane Williamson’s side a run for their money in their own backyard.

Chopra made some surprising omissions in his hypothetical XI but none was bigger than snubbing Indian skipper Virat Kohli. Instead of Kohli, Chopra picked England captain Joe Root as the captain of this side.

© Instagram/Aakash Chopra

Explaining the rationale behind the decision, Chopra argued that Joe Root scored two double hundreds playing in the sub-continent, hence got the nod ahead of the likes of Kohli and Babar Azam. 

“At No.4, I have kept Joe Root. Yes, Kohli and Babar Azam, you are not there. He has scored 1660 runs, of course, they play more matches, which includes double centuries in India, Sri Lanka,” the former cricketer said on his YouTube channel.

Naturally, Kohli’s die-hard fans weren’t pleased with Chopra’s selection and expressed their disappointment on the micro-blogging site in large numbers, with some even questioning his own credentials as a batsman that he decided to leave Kohli out. 

Kohli ?? pic.twitter.com/LtYBjebMNz

— Mohmmad Taukir (@Taukir003) June 29, 2021

No team without virat

— 𝙇𝘼𝙆𝙎𝙃𝘼𝙔⚡ (@_lakshayyyyyy) June 29, 2021

Without virat sir it's incomplete

— VICKY SINGH (@Vikkivirat2) June 29, 2021

No Kohli?

— Ved Pathak 🇮🇳 (@Vedpathak35) June 29, 2021

Wrong XI Virat Should Be The Captain And He Dont Playing Virat

— Sameer Sharma (@s18755221MII) June 29, 2021

May I know how good a player Aakash himself was to omit out Virat Kohli?

— Jisha Laha 🇮🇳 (@JishaLaha) June 29, 2021

Shame on u and akash chopra ..
Without king ...how can complete any team for any formats.

— PRABHAT OJHA (@prabhatojha98) June 29, 2021

Picking Froot as a captain, who could not even regain Ashes at home. pic.twitter.com/bkLHHO4546

— Utkarsh 🇮🇳 (@UTK_019) June 29, 2021

Really .. without #Kohli

It's bullshit. Rubbish

— abNsebastian (@AbNsebastian) June 29, 2021

Its means Virat is no more king kohli .. everyone knows it but nobody says anything

— Praja k pati 🇮🇳 (@ErMKPrajapati) June 29, 2021

Despite Kohli’s ouster, three Indian cricketers found a place in the side with Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant and Ravichandran Ashwin picked to perform the same role that they normally do with the national team.

Rohit was picked as an opener alongside Sri Lanka’s Dimuth Krunaratne, while Marnus Labuschagne, who was the top scorer in the inaugural WTC cycle, got the nod to bat one down. Root and Steve Smith formed the top-five, while Ben Stokes was the only fast-bowling all-rounder at number six.

© ICC

Pant, who had the best season of his life in red-ball cricket, was handed the wicket-keeping duties, while fellow countryman Ashwin was picked as the only specialist spinner.

In the fast-bowling department, Chopra didn’t pick any of the Indian seamers and instead went in with the Australian duo of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood and one Englishmen in Stuart Broad.

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