Virat Kohli Explains India's Poor Rank In T20Is

While Virat Kohli-led India continue to dominate Tests and ODIs, the same cannot be said about their performance in T20Is. Ranked number one in Tests and number 2 in ODIs, India are at a lowly fifth in the shortest format of the game. India’s performance in T20Is in recent months is not really up to the mark. And with less than a year remaining before the next T20 World Cup gets underway, the Men in Blue will be desperate to hit the top gear in T20Is.

In the ongoing year, India started their T20I journey with a defeat in New Zealand. They lost the three-match series in New Zealand by 2-1. The Men in Blue then thrashed reigning T20 world champions West Indies 3-0 in their own backyard. But in the following series against South Africa at home, they only managed to draw it.

Bangladesh then gave India a timely reminder by stunning them by seven wickets in Delhi. The hosts then bounced back in style to win the next two games and clinch the series. But the frequent defeats have shown that India are yet to hit the form they would like in T20Is. And as they gear up to take on West Indies again, they will be looking to sort out all the problems.

Virat Kohli explains inconsistent performance:

Speaking ahead of the first T20I against West Indies, captain Virat Kohli defended his team’s poor ranking in T20Is by saying that India are yet to field their strongest side in the format. He also insisted that more than winning the games, the team is focusing on batting first and defending low totals while preparing for next year’s T20 World Cup in Australia.

“We need to focus on batting first and defending low totals as well. Those are two things that we need to really focus on. T20 is a format where you can experiment a lot more than ODIs and Tests,” Virat Kohli told reporters.

“You want to give chances to the youngsters in the shortest format, we have not played the strongest eleven together in T20Is so rankings cannot be considered. We have the mindset that we will not focus on the rankings,” he added.

At the same time, Kohli also made it clear that India from now on are keen to play their strongest side in the build-up to the forthcoming World Cup in Australia.

“Now heading into the T20 World Cup, we need to take our best team to the field, we would probably be playing our strongest eleven going into the World Cup,” he said.

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