T20 World Cup: 'Please let Virat Kohli....' - De Villiers' request to India before Super 8 tie vs Afghanistan
SA great AB de Villiers requests India before Super 8 tie vs Afghanistan
Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers has urged the Indian team management to send Virat Kohli at No. 3 ahead of their Super 8 clash versus Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup. In the ongoing 20-nation tournament, in West Indies and the USA, Rohit Sharma-led Men in Blue will face Afghanistan in their opening Super 8 clash at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Thursday (June 20). Before the tie, de Villiers requested India to not open with Kohli-Rohit and drop the former to No. 3, his original spot.
Kohli has been opening the innings for India in the ongoing ICC event. Riding on the back of a successful run in IPL 2024, where he ended as the Orange Cap winner by making 741 runs for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) as an opener, Kohli was promoted up the order for India; resulting in Yashasvi Jaiswal's ouster. However, the 35-year-old only managed five runs in the three outings during the group stage of the T20 WC. Thus, ABD has reckoned that Kohli is ideal for No. 3 where he is the best in soaking pressure in the middle overs.
On his YouTube channel, De Villiers pointed out, "I have always said please bat Virat at number three. Especially in better wickets that they will play now, Virat is the go-to guy at number three. He can play the attacking game and also pull back and absorb the pressure if necessary. He is the best player in the world in the middle overs. I do not see any reasons (for opening)."
The South African also feels that Rohit & Co. need to be little more attacking to break their 11-year-jinx of not winning an ICC title.
ABD added, "Just make sure you throw the first punch. In the past World Cups, I think they have been a bit conservative, sort of feeling their way into a game. They are such a quality team that I feel they can take a bit of a risk early in the game to get the momentum because there is no looking back once they get the momentum."
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India are placed in Group 1 in the Super 8s, also featuring Australia, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.