IND v WI: Virat Kohli Crucial To India In T20Is, Despite Not Being Captain - Ajit Agarkar
Published - 15 Feb 2022, 11:24 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 01:04 AM
India will be taking on West Indies in the first T20I of the three-match series in Kolkata on February 16 and ahead of the important encounter, former India player Ajit Agarkar reminded everyone of the importance of Virat Kohli to India in the T20I format.
The former India captain stepped down as India T20 captain after the T20 World Cup 2021 last year and will play the format for the first time under new captain Rohit Sharma. While he announced ahead of the World Cup that he would step down to focus on leading the sides in Tests and ODIs, the Delhi star was sacked as ODI captain before he stepped down as Test captain as well earlier this year.
Kohli has been criticized in the recent past for taking a lot of time to get set and score runs in the T20I format for India, but his number game is quite strong. In 2021, Kohli played 10 T20is, amassing 290 runs with 4 fifties at an average of over 74.
Virat Kohli’s Runs Are So Crucial For India: Ajit Agarkar
Virat Kohli is coming into the three-match T20I series after an abysmal outing in the ODI series where he managed only 26 runs in three innings, including a duck. However, he has been backed by the Indian team management including batting coach Vikram Rathour and captain Rohit Sharma, who has said that neither Kohli is short on confidence nor needs a break to get his bearings together.
Agarkar said it’s up to the team management to give Kohli clarity on whether the star batter should go after the bowlers aggressively or play the anchor’s role that he was doing when he led the team until last year.
“I think one of the top things about Virat Kohli, when he was captain was, that he didn’t let his form falter. His runs didn’t dry up with the extra pressure that can happen sometimes – that didn’t happen with him which was his greatness as a captain as well,” Agarkar told Star Sports show Game Plan.
“So, now that the captaincy pressure is off there might still be a role for him whether that’s to play a bit more aggressively or still bat the whole innings and the other guys bat around him and bat more aggressively. I think that’s for the team management to decide, but Virat Kohli’s runs are so crucial for India – every time he scores runs India invariably end up winning. So, his form is crucial to India’s success as well,” the former pacer added.
The T20I series will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on February 16, 18, and 20.
