IND vs ENG: Kevin Pietersen Wants Virat Kohli To Have An Off Day In T20 World Cup 2022 Semi-final Against England

Former England National Cricket Team captain Kevin Pietersen has said that he wants the batting maestro Virat Kohli to have an off day in the second semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.

Semi-final 2 of the marquee tournament will be played between the India National Cricket Team and England National Cricket Team at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday, November 10.

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The Rohit Sharma-led India finished as the Group 2 table-toppers with 4 wins in 5 games and the Jos Buttler-led England finished as the runners-up in Group 1 despite having the same points as New Zealand due to an inferior Net Run Rate.

The modern-day batting legend Kohli has been in absolutely incredible form in the multi-nation tournament. He is currently the highest run-getter in the tournament with 246 runs under his belt at an average of 123.00 and a strike rate of 138.98.

Meanwhile, Pietersen has stated that he supported Kohli during his lean patch, but now wants him to have an off day in Adelaide.

“I backed Kohli throughout the little loss of form that he had, and he’s had a lot to deal with. He is an entertainer, he needs crowds, he needs that buzz, he needs that excitement. He didn’t have that for a few years, and he lost his way.

“But the crowds are in, it’s a T20 World Cup in Australia – one of the greatest places to play T20 cricket – and the King is back. As a close friend, I’m very happy for him, but I just need Virat to have a day off,” Pietersen wrote in his blog for Betway.

It’s just so good to see the greatest current player back in the runs – Kevin Pietersen on Virat Kohli

Former England National Cricket Team captain further said that he is delighted to see “the greatest current player” Kohli back amongst the runs. He added that Kohli’s return to form has played a key role in Suryakumar Yadav’s meteoric rise.

“It’s just so good to see the greatest current player back in the runs, not only from India’s perspective, but for the world of cricket. For India, he’s such a major component for them to start seeing some consistency. When Virat plays well, the other players start to perform around him.

“You saw that with Suryakumar Yadav and the innings he played against Zimbabwe; it was just spectacular. When your talisman is back, it helps massively,” added Pietersen.

Also Read: IND vs ENG: Around The Age When Most Cricketers Start To Wind Down, Virat Kohli’s Career Is Just Beginning – Brett Lee