The Australia’s great former cricketer Ricky Ponting have faith Virat Kohli is the first player picked in the Indian squad for next month’s ICC Men’s T20 World cup 2024 and revealed where he thinks the star right-hander should bat.
There is a great discussion around the selectors of Indian cricket team that who will be the opener against Ireland in the New York on 5th June 2024.As Virat Kohli has been in great form in the role of opener for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the ongoing Indian Premier League with the tournament best 708 runs from the 14 innings,and questions have been raised about his strike rate at the top of the batting order.
Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting, a 3 time ICC Men’s cricket world cup winner, says that as in recent times Virat Kohli remains as relevant to India’s fortunes as before, as consider strike rates have taken precedence over averages.
Ricky Ponting told the ICC ” The mantra I think for the teams three or four years ago, was making sure that someone at the top of the order made 80 or 100, even if it took them 60 balls, it didn’t really matter”.
Ponting thinks the 35- year-old will be best served opening the batting alongside skipper Rohit Sharma at the T20 world cup while Virat has mainly batted at No.3 for India in the shortest format in the past.
“As Yashasvi Jaiswal is in that squad and one thing they have not got a lot in their team is left-hand batters, so selectors have still got a decision to make” Ponting observed.
“So selectors have got a decision to make with Jaiswal, but I am sure that they will go with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as openers.”
“He (Virat) is the first pick for me for India”
“He can play his role at the top , and if you have got the right guys around him scoring like him Suryakumar Yadav ,Rohit Sharma’s going to have a high strike rate”.
According to Ponting,Virat Kohli can stand out in big matches worked in his favour.
” I remember having this chat and some other chats I did for the ICC about there’s some talk about Virat Kohli not being in their team only last year, but what happened when the big games come around, he was one of the guys who got the job done” Ricky Ponting noted.
“So experience and class like that, you can not replace”