India is one of the superpowers in T20 cricket and they are up there as one of the favorites for the upcoming T20 World Cup. However, they are not without their issues in the lead-up. The most pressing issue is what to do with the best player to play for them in this generation, Virat Kohli.
Kohli has been a giant in their batting lineup for most of his career. He has been the big wickets, scoring huge runs throughout his career. However, time waits for no man and while Kohli has still been successful, it may be time to leave T20 cricket to the younger players.
Kohli has only played in one of the two T20s in England this tour, scoring one run off three deliveries. Fortunately for Kohli, the rest of his team performed and India took a 2-0 lead. However, the Indian selectors need to take a longer-range view with Kohli and the team. The T20 World Cup starts in three short months. Due to it being held in Australia, they will need to put their best team forward thanks to the conditions.
Virat Kohli needs to show some positive intent for India.
It is not as though Kohli needs to score a heap of runs to keep his position in the team. He has put the hard yards in and the selectors know how talented he is. However, his batting at the moment is not in line with the team’s high-risk, high-reward strategy. His 107% strike rate over the last five games is evidence of this.
To put this into perspective, India has scored at 153% in their two games in England. This is showing real intent in their batting where Kohli is almost playing within himself, too afraid to get out. This is not a good way to bat considering the rest of the team is showing a true carefree attitude to batting.
If Kohli does not look to play with intent in the third match then there are going to be problems. India has five T20s against the West Indies coming up to help them prepare for the World Cup. The selectors will need to decide if they want to put another player into the team to give them time to settle in or go with Kohli.
At 33 his very best cricket is behind him. However, his play is of such quality that he will work himself into form. However, will he be able to do this before October? This decision needs to be made now on the T20 portion of his career.
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