Indian skipper Virat Kohli addressed the pre-match press conference ahead of India’s T20I series opener against England at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday, March 12. Previously India won the Test series under Kohli 3-1 and they are now concentrating on winning the white-ball series. Kohli addressed the press conference and spoke about India’s preparations for the first game and the series.
Virat Kohli said that England is the tea to watch out for in the World T20. the Morgan-led team is leading the ICC rankings heading into this tournament and will look to hold onto the position longer. When asked to pick the favorites for the marquee tournament, Kohli had no hesitation in choosing England over his own team.
England Will Be The Team To Beat: Virat Kohli
“No, England will be the team to beat. They’re the number 1 side in the world. Prime focus will be on them. All other teams will be wary of the strengths they bring to the park. Every other team will agree with me,” Virat Kohli said in a virtual press conference.
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Both England and India are on a winning streak in the format. While India are unbeaten in seven games in the format, England have not been beaten in their last eight outings. This series thus will see the streak broken for either of these two teams.
Meanwhile, the series will be important for a few players like Rishabh Pant and Shikhar Dhawan. While Pant has been a regular in the Indian Test squad, he has not cemented his place yet in the white-ball squads. Shikhar too now plays the white-ball format only with matches far and few in between.
Dhawan was dropped when India won 5-0 in New Zealand last year and will continue to do so unless one of them is rested, then the left-hander will come in the eleven. He made a comeback in the T20I series against Australia. Dhawan played three games and scored 81 runs at an average of just 27.
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