Asia Cup 2022: "In the top three, you need such a batter who provides stability" - Saba Karim on India star Virat Kohli
Former Indian wicketkeeper Saba Karim had no issues whatsoever with the way star batter Virat Kohli approached his innings against Hong Kong at the Asia Cup 2022 on Wednesday.
Quite a few questions were raised over Kohli taking 44 deliveries to score his unbeaten 59 runs. However, Karim believes it is necessary for the top order to have someone of Kohli's stature to provide much-needed stability to the innings.
The former Indian captain did have a scratchy start, but accelerated beautifully towards the end, helping his team put up a giant score of 192/2.
Speaking to India News Sports on Friday, Saba Karim explained why Kohli should continue with this approach and not think too much about being ultra-aggressive. He said:
"Virat Kohli has always been such a batter in T20s who accelerates incredibly well after facing 15-20 balls. We got to see that much-needed clarity of thought in his batting. So I am sure that the more he plays, the better he will get. In the top three, you need such a batter who provides stability to the team and Kohli is doing exactly that."
India's top three need to capitalize on the powerplay: Rajkumar Sharma
The Men in Blue will be buoyed after their middle-order delivered in both games of the Asia Cup when the top-order failed to provide a flying start. However, Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma, who was also present on the panel, explained the importance of cashing in on the fielding restrictions.
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On this, the former Delhi cricketer stated:
"India was known to be a top-heavy side and their top three used to win games single-handedly over the past 3-4 years. Although we have depth in our batting and our middle-order has performed really well, we still need to capitalize on the powerplay in the big games and for that the top order firing is necessary."
After his latest knock against Hong Kong, has Kohli finally found his mojo back? Let us know in the comments.