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Virat Kohli (Source-ICC)
Former India skipper Virat Kohli was out for a first ball duck against United States of America on Wednesday. This was third successive single digit score for the 35-year-old during the T20 World Cup edition. In his earlier two games, Kohli had scored 1 against Ireland and 4 versus Pakistan.
Former Indian star Mohammad Kaif took to Twitter and posted a video expressing concerns around Kohli’s form. The 43-year-old said that India must push Virat Kohli down to number 3 spot where he has been batting all his life.
Pant with Rohit. Virat back to number 3. That's my wish for the upcoming #T20WorldCup matches. pic.twitter.com/wsMxdNa2Ly
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) June 12, 2024
Mohammad Kaif also said that Rohit Sharma should open with Rishabh Pant for rest of the tournament. Virat Kohli had been opening the innings for India after his spectacular run in the IPL 2024 season. This move has seen Yashasvi Jaiswal get benched raising a lot of eyebrows.
‘Virat Kohli will play his natural’ – Mohammad Kaif
In the video posted on his Twitter, Mohammad Kaif has urged the team management to let Virat Kohli bat at number 3. The 43-year-old said “At number 3, Virat Kohli will play his natural game. He will have time to settle and analyze the game. Scoring 50-60 runs will be great for him”
The former India star also said “His stats in this position in the previous World Cups are impressive. If Rishabh Pant can move from number five to number 3, he can also move from number to open the innings. You will get a left and right hand combination with Virat Kohli at 3 and Suryakumar Yadav at 4”
Sunil Gavaskar has come out in defense of Kohli and while speaking to Star Sports India said “The biggest motivation for any players is to win matches, especially when you are playing for your country. He has done so well for India over the years and won so many games. I think he recognises that. We are in the early phases of the tournament. There's Super 8s, semi-finals, and hopefully the final. All he needs to do is show patience and faith in himself, which i think he has plenty,"
The former Indian skipper also said “When you get three low scores, it doesn't mean he is not batting well. Sometimes you get good deliveries. Any other day, the ball would've gone wide or over the slip for a boundary, today it didn't. So, there's nothing to worry about. We have to show faith in him. Much believe that he is going to come good, sooner rather than later”