NEW DELHI: Former swashbuckling opener
Virender Sehwag on Saturday stated that
Virat Kohli "should drop himself" if he fails in the second Test against South Africa, launching a scathing attack on the India skipper for his team selection.
ALSO READ - 2nd Test: Three late wickets give India lift on day of toil Coming into the game at Centurion after suffering a 72-run defeat in the first Test, India made three changes to their playing XI with KL Rahul replacing
Shikhar Dhawan and
Ishant Sharma coming in for Bhuvneshwar, whose three-wicket burst in the first morning of the opening Test had rocked the hosts.
ALSO READ: Gavaskar questions India's team selection for 2nd Test"Watching Virat Kohli excluding Shikhar Dhawan for just one Test failure, and Bhuvneshwar for no reason at all, Kohli should drop himself in the third Test at Centurion, if he fails to perform in Centurion," Sehwag told 'India TV'.
ALSO READ: Donald, Laxman slam India think-tank for Bhuvneshwar omissionThe other change was wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, who was ruled out due to a strain, and
Parthiv Patel was included in his place.
Expand
"Excluding Bhuvneshwar wasn't the right decision. Citing that Ishant might benefit with his height, Virat Kohli has hurt
Bhuvneshwar Kumar's self-confidence.
"They could have played Ishant in place of any other bowler. Bhuvneshwar performed well in Cape Town and excluding him like this isn't justified," Sehwag added.
India's record of nine consecutive series victories is on the line after the hosts took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
It is only the second match in India's 12-Test long overseas schedule in 2018-19, and already they are faced with a must-not-lose situation in a bid to keep this series alive.