AB De Villiers, a personal friend and former IPL teammate of Virat Kohli, thinks the ace Indian batsman should bat number three in T20s.
In ten days, Team India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign. Given that Virat seems at ease opening in the IPL, India may be tempted to start the innings with him and captain Rohit Sharma.
In the IPL 2024, Virat Kohli has been the most prolific run scorer with over 700 runs while opening for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). With a brilliant batting performance for the RCB during the competition, the handsome right-hander silenced his detractors, who had questioned his strategy against spinners and his strike rate.
In 15 games as the RCB’s opener in the lucrative T20 competition, Kohli has scored 741 runs with an astounding strike rate of 154 and an excellent average of 61.
“I feel Virat Kohli’s a number three batsman”- AB De Villiers
AB De Villiers, a JioCinema specialist, believes that Virat should continue to play at number three in the future, notwithstanding his impressive performances as an opener in the IPL 2024.
AB de Villiers told PTI in a select media interaction arranged by JioCinema: “I feel he’s a number three batsman and that’s where he’s most impactful. He’s almost like the captain of the batting team everywhere he goes. He keeps the calmness and the composure within the batting unit.”
“I know Virat himself really enjoys opening, which is great. You’ve got to respect that from a man who’s played the game for many years. He understands his game really well and he understands what he wants out of the game as well. But if I was playing a TV game, Xbox, he would come in at No.3 in my team,” AB de Villiers said.
I feel there’s too much risk in those first couple of overs to go and ask Virat to take the game on, to hit the ball in the air. All I want him to do is bat between overs 4 and 16-17, somewhere there. I feel that’s where he’s best in the world by a country mile and that’s where he’s most impactful,” AB de Villiers added.
Rajasthan Royals defeated Royal Challengers Bengaluru by four wickets in the IPL 2024 Eliminator in Ahmedabad, denying them yet another IPL trophy. For the 16th time in a row, Virat Kohli failed to win the IPL.
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