Virat Kohli has been the greatest ever cricketer of this generation. The former India captain has been in fine form in the white-ball format. He is currently the player with the highest number of centuries among the active cricketers and the only batter to score 50 ODI centuries as he surpassed Sachin Tendulkar's 49-century record in the ODI World Cup semi-final. The 'Chase Master' has been the first batter to score 1000 plus runs in 8 times in a calendar year.
Kohli is currently playing in the 3-match T20I series against Afghanistan. He is currently featuring in the 3rd T20I game against the Afghans at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium and has been back to the dugout after scoring a duck on the first ball. Ahead of the game former South Africa captain and Kohli's teammate AB de Villiers, explained why Kohli should continue to be India's No.3 batter in the limited-overs format.
De Villiers mentioned that Kohli had played 79 games as the No.3 batsman. The former India captain had an average of 55 and a strike rate of 135. According to the RCB legend, Kohli has an average of 23 when facing the first ball as an opener. Kohli has a far better batting record when he does not face the opening ball of the game. Kohli has the opportunity to shatter a major record in the third T20I against Afghanistan.
I have a different opinion: AB de Villiers
De Villiers said, "I have a different opinion. For most of my international career, Virat batting at No. 3 was the biggest threat for us when we played against India. I've always felt like he was the glue of the team in the middle order. No. 3 is not quite middle-order, it is top-order. But he is so good that he often combined with the middle-order, even down to tailenders. It's just impossible to play against that."
"Even for Bangalore, when we played at RCB for so many years together, I always tried to convince him (Virat Kohli) not to open the batting. He loves that; I think that's his preference. He's played cricket for long enough and maybe he should have the final say. If he wants to open the batting, if I was the coach, I would say, 'Okay, you know what you're doing. Go open the batting; you're the best player, go win us the World Cup."
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AB de Villiers drops blunt comment about Virat Kohli's batting position in T20I cricket
Kohli is currently playing in the 3-match T20I series against Afghanistan. He is currently featuring in the 3rd T20I game against the Afghans at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium
AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli has been the greatest ever cricketer of this generation. The former India captain has been in fine form in the white-ball format. He is currently the player with the highest number of centuries among the active cricketers and the only batter to score 50 ODI centuries as he surpassed Sachin Tendulkar's 49-century record in the ODI World Cup semi-final. The 'Chase Master' has been the first batter to score 1000 plus runs in 8 times in a calendar year.
Kohli is currently playing in the 3-match T20I series against Afghanistan. He is currently featuring in the 3rd T20I game against the Afghans at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium and has been back to the dugout after scoring a duck on the first ball. Ahead of the game former South Africa captain and Kohli's teammate AB de Villiers, explained why Kohli should continue to be India's No.3 batter in the limited-overs format.
De Villiers mentioned that Kohli had played 79 games as the No.3 batsman. The former India captain had an average of 55 and a strike rate of 135. According to the RCB legend, Kohli has an average of 23 when facing the first ball as an opener. Kohli has a far better batting record when he does not face the opening ball of the game. Kohli has the opportunity to shatter a major record in the third T20I against Afghanistan.
I have a different opinion: AB de Villiers
De Villiers said, "I have a different opinion. For most of my international career, Virat batting at No. 3 was the biggest threat for us when we played against India. I've always felt like he was the glue of the team in the middle order. No. 3 is not quite middle-order, it is top-order. But he is so good that he often combined with the middle-order, even down to tailenders. It's just impossible to play against that."
"Even for Bangalore, when we played at RCB for so many years together, I always tried to convince him (Virat Kohli) not to open the batting. He loves that; I think that's his preference. He's played cricket for long enough and maybe he should have the final say. If he wants to open the batting, if I was the coach, I would say, 'Okay, you know what you're doing. Go open the batting; you're the best player, go win us the World Cup."