"I am going to open in the IPL as well" - Virat Kohli
In a major revelation, Indian and Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli has announced that he will open the innings in the upcoming IPL 2021.
Virat Kohli played a rollicking 80 for India in the 5th T20I against England on Saturday while opening the innings. In the post-match presentation, he remarked that he is ready to make one of the opening spots his own, both for the RCB and Team India.
Virat Kohli reasoned that the RCB now has a strong middle-order, while his partnership with Rohit Sharma for the Men in Blue is the perfect dovetail for India's new aggressive style of play.
"Yes, I am going to open in the IPL as well. Look, I have batted in different positions in the past but I feel we do have a solid middle-order now. Would definitely like to partner Rohit at the top. Because if we have a partnership and both are set, you know, one of us is going to cause some serious damage and that is exactly what we want," explained Virat Kohli.
And the other guys feel a lot more confident when one of us is still in and is set and they know they can play more freely. It augurs well for the team. I would like this to continue and hopefully continue that form through to the world cup." he continued.
RCB will boast a slightly new-look side in the IPL 2021. They have included experienced big-hitters Glenn Maxwell and Dan Christian in the side along with young guns like Mohammed Azharuddeen and Sachin Baby who can all bat in the middle-order.
Virat Kohli will probably partner the prodigious Devdutt Padikkal at the top with AB de Villiers or one of the new buys supporting him at No. 3. Virat Kohli also has an outstanding record while batting at the top in the IPL. From 61 innings in that position, he has gleaned 2345 runs at an average of 47.86 including 5 tons.
Virat Kohli reviews India's emphatic win in the T20I decider
Virat Kohli, who was named the Man of the Series for collecting 231 runs across 5 innings at a fantastic average of 115.50, also reviewed India's 36-run victory in the decider. The 32-year-old remarked that the hosts "completely outplayed" England and epitomized what they are capable of doing in this format.
"It was a complete game for us. Totally outplayed the opposition. Even with so much dew coming in, like last game we've defended the total again. We put good runs on the total [again] and today was a complete game. I mean, the fact that Rishabh and Shreyas did not even get a chance to bat and we still got close to 230 is a testimony to what we can do with the bat when everyone fires and we play the way we always do," said Virat Kohli.
The IPL 2021 season will kick start on April 9 with a match between Virat Kohli's RCB and Rohit Sharma's Mumbai Indians. As of the ongoing series, the two teams will now move on to the ODIs which will begin on March 23 in Pune.