Virat Kohli is most effective at No. 3 in the T20 World Cup, despite his opening risk: AB de Villiers
Though his good buddy AB de Villiers believes the Indian superstar would be best suited to bat at number three in the next T20 World Cup in the USA and Caribbean, Virat Kohli has enjoyed tremendous success as an opener in the IPL, including the current season.
With a strike rate of 150 or higher, Kohli has amassed 741 runs for Royal Challengers Bangalore so far this season, dispelling doubts from those who had questioned his intentions against spinners in the middle overs early in the competition.
Although Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal are a formidable right-left opening combination, Kohli may be asked to open in the ICC event starting on June 1 in order to make room for Suryakumar Yadav at number three.
De Villiers, though, believes it is not a smart idea for the former captain of India to open.
“He’s a number three batsman in my opinion, and that’s where his greatest influence lies. Everywhere he goes, he almost seems to be the captain of the batting team. He maintains the batting unit’s poise and serenity,” the legendary South African told PTI on Wednesday during a special media briefing organized by JioCinema.
“It’s nice that Virat himself truly enjoys opening. From a man who has played the game for a long time, you have to respect that. He has a great understanding of both his game and what he wants to gain from it.”
But he would rank third on my squad if I were playing an Xbox game or TV game. I believe that asking Virat to take the game on and hit the ball in the air would be risky given the first few overs. I want him to bat anywhere between overs 4 and 16–17, that’s all.”
“I feel that’s where he’s best in the world by a country mile and that’s where he’s most impactful,” he said.
De Villiers has played with and against Kohli for years, so he has firsthand knowledge of how the Indian player handles criticism. Those who had questioned Kohli’s strategy early in the tournament included the legendary Sunil Gavaskar. The champion batter reacted with a torrent of runs at a remarkable strike rate.
He responded, “Yeah, I enjoyed that,” to the question regarding the ongoing controversy surrounding Kohli’s strike rate this season.
“I felt that receiving that much backlash for someone who is a national hero and role model like that was… just awful. However, I just knew how to know him, and I made sure to disclose this on my show. You guys don’t know what happens to this guy when he receives criticism, I remarked.
“The many years I’ve played against him, I used to tell the players in the team room, you do not say one word to Virat on the pitch because he will come out, and he will score a big 100 if you try and chirp him.”
Receiving some criticism may have been a blessing in disguise because he is very motivated by things like that. And perhaps someone ought to confront him tonight, right before this game, with some harsh words. He declared, “I’m praying for that,” prior to the Eliminator matchup with the Rajasthan Royals.
RCB has advanced to the IPL playoffs in an incredible way. Before mounting a historic turnaround with six straight wins to secure a play-off position, they had only won one of their first eight games.
A guy like Kohli can do a great deal to boost morale when the team is struggling, and that is exactly what he did, according to De Villiers. Even when the team was losing every game, Kohli’s passion never wavered.
It merely demonstrates his level of concern for the group and his ambition to eventually take home a trophy. And from the perspective of a teammate, to see it in one of your senior players who has accomplished everything in cricket, even when you’re down-and-out like that with one out of eight wins. He truly is among the greatest artists of all time.
“And when we’ve completed just one out of eight, you see someone like that and celebrate on the field. That must be, to put it mildly, extremely inspirational and motivating.”
And I believe that just by his attitude, his fielding ability, the way he threw himself around on the field, the run-outs he received, the celebrations, the tapping on the shoulders of some younger players, and the joy of seeing others succeed, he was able to lift that team and get them back on track.” In the end, that’s a selfless deed,” he continued.