Indian veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has showered praise on Virat Kohli. Ashwin said when Virat Kohli switches on a mode inside him, he can play any game at any pace. Kohli missed the opening T20I against Afghanistan due to personal reasons however he played a fine little cameo of 29 runs off just 16 balls in the second game at Indore.
But talisman was dismissed for a golden duck in the third game at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Wednesday. However, Kohli was once again superb in the field, saving a six when he flew like a bird and also took a fine running catch to dismiss Najibullah Zadran.
Kohli has amassed 4037 runs in 117 T20I matches at an average of 51.76 and a strike rate of 138.16.
Kohli has all the experience under his belt and it is expected that he will play aggressively in the T20 World Cup. The 35-year-old finished the ODI World Cup as the highest run-getter with 765 runs in 11 matches at an average of 95.62 and a strike rate of 90.32. Ergo, he was awarded Player of the tournament for his consistent performances.
“The ever-consistent Virat Kohli scored heaps of runs in the ODI World Cup. He flew like a Superman to save a six, and that is the reason why this match (3rd T20I) went into the Super Over. But his intent in the second T20I to hit every bowler out of the park just shows that he is also game for the upcoming World Cup. He also wants to take an aggressive approach. It was brilliant to watch him pay in such gear,” Ashwin said on his YouTube Channel.
“This is Virat Kohli we are talking about, one of the greatest Indian batters to ever grace the game. When he switches on a mode inside him, he can play any game at any pace. And he showed it yet again,” Ashwin added in praise of the former India captain.
On the other hand, Indian captain Rohit Sharma backed Sanju Samson and Virat Kohli despite the duo getting dismissed without troubling the scorers in the third game against Afghanistan.
“Kohli tried to go hard from the word go, he normally does not do that, but he showed the intent. Same with [Sanju] Samson, he was out first ball, but the intent was there,” the Indian captain said in a post-match interaction with Jio Cinema.
India will next take on England in a five-match Test series.
