Virat Kohli is a class act and is the knight in shining armour of the Indian cricket team. Having made his debut way back in 2008 in international cricket, Virat Kohli has gradually snowballed into one of the greatest-ever cricketers of all time.
After playing the ICC T20 World Cup 2022, both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had taken a break from T20 cricket. They distanced themselves from this format and were focussing on the longer forms of the game.
But as the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 is approaching, they have decided to play this format for India. Now another question arises; which position does Kohli bat in?
He has batted in the number 3 position for most parts of his T20I career but can also open the innings. Kohli has given results in the opening position and this should be a progressive step, the Indian cricket team needs to follow.
In this article, we take a look at 3 reasons why Virat Kohli should open the innings in T20I international cricket:
1. Virat Kohli is playing an attacking version of cricket
In recent times, Virat Kohli has transformed himself in this format. He has tilted away from the typical anchor-role he is known for and is smearing the bowlers, all across the park. Virat Kohli has stepped on the accelerator and is playing an attacking brand and version of cricket.
Virat Kohli had opened the innings for India in the 2nd T20I between India and Afghanistan and had scored 29 runs in in 16 deliveries. His innings was laced with 5 fours and it was a visually-pleasing sight.
This intent early on could definitely work in favour of Virat Kohli.
2. The best player of the team should face the maximum number of deliveries
In cricket, the best player of the team must and should face the maximum number of deliveries. Virat Kohli is undoubtedly the best player in the team and is the backbone of this side.
He was the leading run-scorer in the ICC T20 World Cup 2014, ICC T20 World Cup 2016 and in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022. This goes on to prove that he is an absolute run-machine, who is extremely reliable and dependable.
3. Has performed well for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL
Virat Kohli has opened the innings for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), quite a few times and has delivered the goods with his blazing blade. Kohli has played 98 games for RCB while opening the innings and has amassed 3611 runs with an average of 43.51.
He has scored 7 hundreds and incidentally, all these have come when he was opening the innings.
Also read: IPL Archives! 3 Memorable Innings Of Sourav Ganguly
