IND vs NZ 2021: Virat Kohli is an impact player, he will only strengthen our squad when he is back – Rohit Sharma

India’s newly appointed T20I captain Rohit Sharma has stated that Virat Kohli is an impact player and he will only strengthen their squad when he will come back into the team.

Kohli has relinquished his T20I captaincy after India was knocked out of the recently concluded T20 World Cup. The former T20I skipper wanted to manage his workload and decided to call it a day from his leadership role.

Rohit Sharma has now taken over the captaincy baton in the shortest format. Kohli has been India’s best batter in the last decade and his T20I records are also one of the best in the world. The talisman might not be at his absolute best in the recent past but he is definitely going to add value to the team.

Meanwhile, Kohli is not known for his pyrotechnics in the shortest format but he certainly can play an anchor’s role. Kohli’s strength has always been his timing in the T20I format and he will look to bring his best. The right-hander has been rested from the T20I series and he will take over as India’s captain in the second Test match against New Zealand.

“What he has been doing for the team, his role will remain the same. He is very important. He is an impact player, he leaves an impression whenever he plays. He is a very important player from the team’s point of view,” Rohit said while addressing the press along with head coach Rahul Dravid in Jaipur.

“Everybody will have a different role, batting first and bowling first, roles will be different. Everyone is open to that. I am sure when Virat comes back, he can only strengthen our team because of the experience and the kind of batsmen he is. It’s only going to add up to our squad,” he added.

In fact, a lot of cricket pundits have questioned India’s template in the shortest format of the game as they feel that Team India plays in a sedate manner. However, Rohit reckons that India’s template is right though they haven’t been able to produce the right results in the major T20I tournaments.

“We need to set the template right. India has been brilliant in this format, we have not won the ICC tournament but we played well as a team and performed well,” Rohit added.

“Of course, there are some holes. There are holes in every team. You try and maximize that, the better for you. I am not going to say that we want to follow a certain team’s template. We need to create our own template based on what’s best for our team.

“In the Indian team, when you compare it to Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the IPL, they play differently in their franchise, they play differently in Syed Mushtaq Ali, when they come here, they play a different role. We want to strictly assign the role that they want to do here. For that, it might take a while or it may happen in a few games as well. For that, we need to give them the longer rope and the confidence to perform to their potential,” he added.

India will face New Zealand on Wednesday in Jaipur.