Former cricketer Wasim Jaffer is keen to see the fluency back in Virat Kohli’s bat as India gear up for the Hong Kong clash. The Men in Blue will clash in their second Asia Cup 2022 against Hong Kong on Wednesday, August 31, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. A win in this game will see them book a Super Four berth.
Kohli made his T20I comeback after a long break by jointly top-scoring against Pakistan on Sunday. The right-handed top-scored with 35 off 34 balls, but didn’t look fluent throughout the course of his innings.
Match Day 💪#TeamIndia all set for #INDvHK 👊#AsiaCup2022 pic.twitter.com/hy8YkOl2pr
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 31, 2022
Virat Kohli will look to strike the right chords against Hong Kong, who are 20th in the ICC T20 Rankings for teams. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo on Tuesday, Wasim Jaffer admitted he wants to see Kohli play a fluent knock of 60-70 runs.
“I hope so. We all want a big innings. You can’t expect him to score a century in T20 cricket but we at least hope to see a swashbuckling 60-70-run innings from Virat Kohli, especially with fluency,” Jaffer said.
“Personally, I want to see his fluency back. The way he used to play in 2016-17, we haven’t seen that fluency so far. I hope that comes back and if that 60-70-run knock comes, his self-confidence will shoot up,” he added.
“It’s a small format and games change within overs” – Wasim Jaffer
Wasim Jaffer further reiterated that the Indians team shouldn’t complacent with their win over Pakistan as things can change quickly in T20 format. The cricketer-turned-commentator advised India to be mindful of that experience and the unpredictability of the shortest format and not take their opponents lightly.
“Compared to Pakistan, it is easy but I don’t think the Indian team shouldn’t be even slightly complacent because the tables don’t take too long to turn in T20 cricket. It’s a small format and games change within overs. I don’t think India will take this game lightly and they shouldn’t either. They are coming from a win so will want to continue that. I feel the Indian team will keep its guard strong,” Jaffer concluded.
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