(AP Photo)
India secured a spot in the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup 2024 with three consecutive victories, but they face a significant concern regarding Virat Kohli’s form. Kohli has only managed to score five runs across three innings, including a golden duck against the USA.
Coming into the tournament after a remarkable IPL 2024 performance, where he scored over 700 runs and emerged as the top run-scorer of the season, Kohli was expected to continue his impressive form in the T20I World Cup. However, he has struggled to find his rhythm so far.
Former India opener Wasim Jaffer, who had predicted Kohli to be the leading run-scorer of the T20 World Cup, believes that Kohli will showcase his brilliance when it truly matters. Jaffer also mentions that the pitches in New York have been challenging for the batsmen.
“Rohit and Virat have been playing on the tough New York pitch so they aren’t quite among the top run-scorers. But do not write off Virat Kohli. As the tournament will get to its business end, he will show his true colors and he will show his greatness. I had picked Virat Kohli as the highest run-scorer and I will stick to him,” Jaffer said in a video on his Youtube channel.
Throughout his career, Kohli has predominantly batted at the no. 3 position. However, due to his successful stint as an opener in the IPL over the past few seasons, the Indian team management has decided to promote him up the order to partner captain Rohit Sharma.
Jaffer believes that Kohli should persist with opening the batting.
“I don’t think Virat Kohli should bat at No. 3. He should continue to open because now you have got Rishabh Pant at No. 3 and now it has been working out really well. You ideally want a left-hand right-hand opening combination and while you have Jaiswal, that doesn’t seem possible,” he said.
India is set to face Canada in their fourth and concluding Group A encounter in Florida. However, Jaffer believes that India must adopt a proactive approach during the Powerplay overs.
“You will need to be proactive in the powerplay. You will reach nowhere if you play cautiously on such pitches because the bowler knows he has to bowl on a spot and let the pitch do the rest. We have seen players like Rishabh Pant get rewarded for their bravery and that’s the way you need to play with the powerplay restrictions,” he said.
Since India has secured their position in the next round, Jaffer proposes that they could provide an opportunity for Sanju Samson to play a match.
“There might be a case for Sanju Samson at No. 4. But then Shivam Dube has got just a couple of games and the team management will want to give him a longer run. Whether Samson will play, whether Jaiswal will play, these decisions are something that the team management will need to think about going forward,” he said.
