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Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has been among the few veteran cricketers who have backed Virat Kohli to relinquish his usual No. 3 spot in the T20I lineup for India and open for the team in the impending T20 World Cup that begins from June 1 onwards. He was in support of the strategy when Kohli kicked off a fabulous run in IPL 2024 and once again outlined the “evidence” on why the 35-year-old should be picked as captain Rohit Sharma’s opening partner after his knock of 92 against Punjab Kings on Thursday.
Kohli has been in sensational form this season, scoring 634 runs in 12 matches, averaging 70.44 and at an impressive strike rate of 153.51, which is significantly higher than his career rate of 134.31.
Speaking to PTI on the sidelines of a promotional event in Bengaluru on Friday, Ganguly admitted that he was in absolute awe of Kohli’s match-winning 47-ball knock that helped RCB win by 60 runs at the Chinnaswamy Stadium and keep their bleak chances of making the IPL 2024 playoffs alive.
“Virat is playing exceptionally well. The way Kohli batted last night – 90 in quick time, you need to use him as opener in T20 World Cup. He should open, evidenced by his last few IPL innings which have been outstanding,” Ganguly said.
Overall, of his total 117 appearances for India, where he has scored 4037 runs in the T20I format, the most for a batter, Kohli has opened only nine times, scoring 400 runs at an average of 57.14 with a strike rate of 161.29. And that run tally also includes his only century in the format, an unbeaten 122, scored against Afghanistan in 2022 Asia Cup.
Ganguly also reckoned that the Ajit Agarkar-led BCCI selection committee picked a balanced T20 World Cup squad.
“This is an excellent squad. I think they have picked the best possible squad. Apart from batting depth, bowling looks excellent. Bumrah is the best fast bowler in the world at the moment. We have experience in Kuldeep, Axar, Siraj. It’s an ideal combination we have this time,” said the former BCCI president.
India will be aiming to land their first T20 World Cup trophy after 17 years. India’s lone triumph in the ICC event came in 2007, the inaugural edition held in South Africa.
