NEW YORK: Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer is confident that charismatic batsman Virat Kohli will showcase his true potential and brilliance in the crucial stages of the Men's T20 World Cup. This belief comes despite Kohli's underwhelming performance in the New York leg of India's campaign, where he scored a mere five runs in three innings.
Kohli entered the tournament on a high note, having been the top run-scorer in IPL 2024 with an impressive 741 runs in 15 matches while opening the batting for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. However, in the T20 World Cup, he has struggled on challenging pitches, scoring 1, 4, and 0 in India's first three Group A games at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.
"Rohit and Virat have been playing on the tough New York pitch so they aren't quite among the top run-scorers. But do not write off Virat Kohli. As the tournament will get to its business end, he will show his true colors and he will show his greatness. I had picked Virat Kohli as the highest run-scorer and I will stick to him," said Jaffer in a video on his Youtube channel.
Jaffer dismissed the idea of Kohli moving back to the number three position, pointing out that Rishabh Pant has settled well in that role.
"I don't think Virat Kohli should bat at No. 3. He should continue to open because now you have got Rishabh Pant at No. 3 and now it has been working out really well. You ideally want a left-hand right-hand opening combination and while you have Jaiswal, that doesn't seem possible."
Additionally, Jaffer expressed his desire for India to adopt a more proactive approach in their power-play batting in the upcoming matches. He believes that a more aggressive strategy could benefit the team's performance.
"You will need to be proactive in the powerplay. You will reach nowhere if you play cautiously on such pitches because the bowler knows he has to bowl on a spot and let the pitch do the rest. We have seen players like Rishabh Pant get rewarded for their bravery and that's the way you need to play with the powerplay restrictions."
With India's final Group A game against Canada scheduled for June 15 in Florida, Jaffer suggests that there might be an opportunity for Sanju Samson to bat at number four, provided they decide to leave out Shivam Dube, who contributed an unbeaten 31 off 35 balls in the seven-wicket victory over USA in New York.
"There might be a case for Sanju Samson at No. 4. But then Shivam Dube has got just a couple of games and the team management will want to give him a longer run. Whether Samson will play, whether Jaiswal will play, these decisions are something that the team management will need to think about going forward," he concluded.
