Virat Kohli to be sent down the order in the T20 World Cup final? Ravichandran Ashwin reveals a jaw-dropping secret
India offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin has backed India's move to play Virat Kohli as an opener in the T20 World Cup 2024 and claimed that India won't be pushing him down to No. 3 for the final against South Africa.
Kohli has opened with Rohit Sharma in all the matches of the tournament so far. The veteran batter is having a horrendous tournament with just 75 runs in seven matches at an average of 10.71.
With Kohli continuously failing to score big, many experts and former cricketers have advised him to move back to his usual No. 3 position, where he has achieved most of the success in his career.
But the Indian team management seemed adamant about their decision and kept backing Kohli as an opener. With just one game remaining now, it seems unlikely that India will change their batting order.
Ravichandran Ashwin rubbishes claims of moving Virat Kohli down to No. 3
While speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, Ashwin argued that Virat Kohli's batting spot isn't even a debate and he should keep playing as an opener.
"Everyone is saying that we should open Jaiswal, instead of Dube and play Virat No. 3. Why fix something that's not broken? Rishabh is playing in No. 3. As far as I know, it's not a debate," Ashwin said.
India have Yashasvi Jaiswal in their squad as the third opener behind Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli but the youngster is yet to play a game. Many experts believe that a talented player like Jaiswal shouldn't be on the bench.
Robin Uthappa backs Virat Kohli to score big in the final
Meanwhile, in the same video, Robin Uthappa backed Virat Kohli to play a match-winning knock in the final. He claimed that Kohli is a big-match player and may even finish unbeaten at the end of India's innings.
"I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Virat is going to play a match-winning innings in this game. For me, he is a big match player. There is no bigger match. As far as I know, you won't get a bigger match like this in T20 cricket. You get it once in two years. It's the biggest game in T20 cricket that happens once in two years," Uthappa said.
"So, there is no bigger stage for a big player like Virat Kohli to go out there and set the world alight. So, I'm backing Virat to get a 50-plus score. Maybe even a not-out score in this game," he added.
Virat Kohli is likely to face a hard time when he will be up against the quality bowling line-up of South Africa. With form not on his side, the pressure will be on him to deliver on the big stage and prove his critics wrong.
He also has the previous experience of playing in a T20 World Cup final. In the 2014 T20 World Cup final, Kohli scored a magnificent 77 off 58 balls to lead India's charge but India went on to lose the game.
