Asia Cup 2022: "I am not seeing that at all" - Reetinder Sodhi on whether Virat Kohli should open with Rohit Sharma
Reetinder Singh Sodhi doesn't see Virat Kohli opening with Rohit Sharma at the upcoming Asia Cup 2022.
The continental T20 tournament will be played in the UAE from August 27 to September 11. Team India will open their campaign in the tournament with a clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on August 28.
During a discussion on India News Sports, Sodhi was asked whether Kohli should bat at the top of the order with Rohit. He replied in the negative, reasoning:
"I am not seeing that at all. Firstly, if we talk about his form, if you play the new ball when you have just arrived at the crease, it might be slightly testing times."
Sodhi feels the No. 3 position is best suited for Kohli. The former Indian all-rounder explained:
"Virat is best at No. 3. He changes the game there. He himself takes the singles, hits odd balls for fours and by the time we reach the 15th over, Virat is at an individual score of 70-80 and the team is around 160-170. From there, we score 200 runs in T20 cricket."
Kohli has opened on eight occasions in T20I cricket. He scored an unbeaten 80 the last time he batted at the top of the order against England. However, he is unlikely to get that role, with KL Rahul favored to open alongside the Indian skipper.
"Virat Kohli will play his own game" - Reetinder Sodhi
Sodhi pointed out that the Indian team's aggressive template doesn't imply that Kohli needs to play the big shots right from the outset. He observed:
"This has been the template that worked when Virat was in great form. The team's template is never that Virat needs to hit a six off the first ball for the team to score 200 runs. Virat Kohli will play his own game."
Sodhi concluded by opining that the Indian team management will also not want Kohli to move away from his tried-and-tested methods, elaborating:
"The talk is about positive intent, it is not about changing your game. Virat Kohli's game is that he takes his time and then accelerates brilliantly. That is his forte, Virat will not leave that, and Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid will also never ask him to leave that."
"You have got to give credit to Virat Kohli for India's new approach in T20 cricket. Virat Kohli has embraced India's New T20 approach. He has had some first hand experience of this new approach of India in T20 cricket in England." - Sanjay Manjrekar (To Sports18)
Kohli will certainly have to get his eye in before he presses the accelerator pedal. An attempt to take the attack to the opposition bowlers right from the start of his innings might prove counterproductive, as was the case in the two T20Is he played against England last month.