Former South African skipper AB de Villiers said Virat Kohli will push for the number one ODI ranking in the ongoing series against New Zealand. Kohli, the ranked number two batter in ODIs, is hot on the heels of his long-time teammate Rohit Sharma.
While Kohli has 773 rating points under his belt, Rohit has 781 points in the rankings ladder. Kohli recently scored 350 runs in three ODIs against South Africa at an average of 150 and was awarded Player of the Series.
On the other hand, Rohit is also in red-hot form as he scored 202 runs in three games against Australia and then backed it with 146 runs in as many games against the Proteas.
“Rohit is the No.1 ODI batter in the world at the moment, and believe me, Virat will know about that. It’s a healthy competition there as the No.1 and 2 batters in the world. Virat doesn’t like to be No.2. Yes, they are teammates, and they are friends, but I feel Virat will make a run at it (becoming No.1),” said De Villiers on his YouTube channel.
“They’ll never talk about it, but they’ll know about it. Rohit will want to stay No.1, and Virat will want to be No.1. It’s a healthy competition within a squad that you want. It’s very good for Team India to have the two greatest players there, No. 1 and 2. The team will only benefit from their healthy competition.”
Meanwhile, AB feels players on the bench are aware of their competition within the squad and knows what they need to do to get ahead in the pecking order.
“It’s similar to a squad of 15 touring somewhere. The batters not playing will know exactly which guy is his main opposition and who he needs to take over in order to get more game time. You never talk about it, but you know about it, and that’s what you work towards,” said De Villiers (via the aforementioned source).
India’s captain Shubman Gill decided to bowl first after winning the toss in the opening ODI against the Kiwis.
