Former Indian wicket-keeper batter, Parthiv Patel has that Virat Kohli gives “right balance” at the top and should open alongside Rohit Sharma in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022. Virat came out to open the innings in the absence of Rohit in the Super Four match against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup. Kohli went on to score his 71st international ton and maiden T20I century during the match.
After rubber stamping his brilliance with the bat, debates have started whether Virat should open the innings with Rohit Sharma in the World Cup as designated opener KL Rahul has been struggling at the top.
Talking about the same, during a chat on Cricbuzz, Parthiv Patel said, “It’s very clear. If I was clear that Virat Kohli should be opening in Asia Cup, he should be opening in World Cup as well. It just gives the right balance.”
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The former cricketer said that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are two very different players and have different approaches while batting. Parthiv added that Kohli is India’s best batter suited for the Australian conditions.
Elaborating the same, Parthiv Patel said, “They (Kohli and Rohit Sharma) are two different kind of players. One goes very aggressive (from the beginning), can hit boundaries, and there is Kohli who finds gaps and creates boundaries. If Rohit and Kohli can play till the first six overs I have no doubt that even in Australian conditions more often than not they will get India to around fifty.”
He further added, “That is a good score without losing a wicket. Kohli is probably India’s best batter suited for those conditions. So why not. You have got your two best batters playing the first six overs. If you have wickets in hand, that has always been the recipe for success for any T20 team.”
Parthiv Patel also highlighted that there was no doubt about Kohli’s place in India’s playing XI as the only concern was his form because of expectations.
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Former cricketer explained, “There was no question about Kohli’s place. It was just about the form. The expectations are always high because he has set the bar so high. We always talk about his big scores and centuries. He was scoring runs, still getting fifties, but everyone is so obsessed about those centuries. There was never a question of whether he will go to the World Cup or not,” he said.
