In T20Is, Virat Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma, in Parthiv Patel’s opinion, should start for Team India. He believes it is the best place for the seasoned right-hander, pointing to his prior success in that role.
The former India wicket-keeper-batsman recommended that Virat Kohli bat at the top of the order. He emphasised that the batter would have unrestricted play as the opener.
Virat Kohli Can Play The Way He Wants: Parthiv Patel
Kohli is capable of playing attacking cricket up front, according to the former Indian wicket-keeper. He also underlined that if India loses a few fast wickets early, the seasoned campaigner may still consolidate. He said this during a discussion on Cricbuzz.
Parthiv Patel explained: “I would want Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to open. I want Kohli to open, so that he can just go out and unleash himself. He’s taken a break, but we all know there’s no shortage of ability in his batting style.”
He added:
“As an opener, you start the game at 0-0. Whereas at No.3, you have to play according to the situation. Kohli can play the way he wants and can still play at a strike rate of 170, and if two wickets have fallen early, he can also play at 130.”
Notably, since India’s trip to England, Virat Kohli has taken a vacation from playing cricket. He wasn’t in the team for the West Indies white-ball matches and won’t be going on the next Zimbabwe trip.
The vital Asia Cup 2022, which is set to start on August 24 in the UAE, is when the seasoned batter is anticipated to return.
Despite increasing speculation about Virat Kohli’s rough spell, Parthiv Patel has supported him. Given that he has nothing to prove to anyone, he believes the player won’t be under a lot of pressure.
He continued by saying that Kohli had already demonstrated his aptitude as an opener with his achievements in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He argued that because he prefers to bat at that position, the hitter should play as the opener in the shortest format.
There’s No Pressure On Virat Kohli: Parthiv Patel
Parthiv Patel stated: “You want Kohli to play as freely as he can. There’s no pressure on him and he doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone. He’s already scored 70 hundreds and has scored plenty of runs.”
Patel added: “All his runs and his big knocks have come as an opener in the IPL in 2016, 2017 and 2018. That’s the position that he likes and he likes to go out there and play an attacking brand of cricket.”
Notably, Kohli has scored an amazing average of 41.85 runs from 84 games while opening for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the IPL.
For Team India in T20Is, he has started the innings eight times and amassed 278 runs from those innings at an average of 39.71.
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