India will face arch-rivals Pakistan in the first match of ICC t20 world cup And Kohli, who will step down from his T20I captaincy after the mega-tournament, on October 24, will be aiming to end the campaign on a high.
TimesofIndia.com caught up with Jonty Rhodes to talk about Kohli’s last storm as Indian T20I captain, India’s chances this time in World T20, Virat’s key players and more.
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Virat will be relinquishing his T20I captaincy after the World Cup and fans were expecting a lot from the Indian skipper this time both as captain and batsman.
We all want Virat Kohli to score runs but he is a man not a machine. He wears his heart on his sleeve. We have seen how he treats the opposition when he is batting on the field. He is always on her face. He is that kind of player. I think the expectation from him – (we keep saying) – oh we want Virat to score runs, you better believe he wants to score runs. Because he is a captain who likes to lead from the front. So, I don’t have any advice for him. We all need to keep quiet and let Virat do what he does. We would love to see Virat Kohli’s performance.
Virat missed out on winning his first senior ICC trophy when India lost to NZ in the WTC final. Now he has another chance. What do you think Virat and Team India can replicate? M S Dhoni Did it in 2007?
The second phase of IPL was played in UAE. So, it is good preparation as the World T20 is being played at the same venue. In this respect, India has an incredible opportunity. The way these young Indian players have come and played with so much confidence and freedom. The World Cup is a different scenario.
Obviously there is a lot in it, the India vs Pakistan match is going to be interesting to watch. We all love to see it in the World Cup. But every captain wants to win. Kohli will be exactly the same. Of course he would like to win the World Cup. But there is only one thing in T20 tournament that any team player can win the game in 10 minutes. So, I think that’s also a consideration, no matter who is the favourite, no matter what the ranking. There are good teams, there are enough good players in different teams who can snatch a game. So, I think people need to understand this.
Kohli, yes, he definitely wants to win the World Cup. But there are a lot of players who will stand in his way. And, like I said, it’s not just the team. In such a limited edition of the game, a single player can almost single-handedly win a game for his side.
Two key players who according to you can do wonders for Virat Kohli in World T20…
You should be able to control the batting of the opposition. So obviously Bumrah. He is superb. He is the kind who can bowl and turn the game on its head. He doesn’t bowl much in the powerplay, maybe an over. He comes and bowls one to the middle and the rest to the death. In T20 cricket you have to win the death overs. So, whether you are batting first in the powerplay or you are chasing or controlling in the last four overs of the game, whoever wins the last ball wins the game. So, it doesn’t matter what happens in between. So, from that perspective, Bumrah is such an important part. But India has many good fast bowlers and specialists.
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Rohit Sharma has an important role to play for India in batting as he can very easily win power-plays, just like the way he bats. Kohli in the middle is a key component to what he does. But then as a finisher a player like Hardik Pandya is obviously an important player with both bat and ball. Because of the way he bats, you want the players to finish the game for you in the last four overs. He is quite destructive. There are a handful of players but India would be expecting the team to do well and that would probably be the difference.
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