Bengaluru. There is a lot of talk about the slow strike-rate of Virat Kohli, who is in top form in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Because of this he is facing criticism. Former great West Indies batsman Brian Lara has advocated his inclusion in the team in the upcoming T20 World Cup, saying that his usefulness goes beyond strike-rate. Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman Kohli scored a century in 67 balls against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur. This is the slowest century of this tournament along with Manish Pandey in 2009.
“Strike-rate depends on the batting order, and a strike-rate of 130-140 is not bad for an opening batsman,” Lara said in Star Sports’ Press Room programme. But if you are coming in the middle order then you may need to score runs at a strike-rate of 150 or 160. As you have seen in this IPL, batsmen are scoring runs at a strike-rate of 200 in the last overs of an innings.
Lara said opening the innings with Kohli and Rohit in the T20 World Cup could be an attractive option, but he advocated trying a youngster along with an experienced player for this spot.
He said, “I think it will be very good for India for Rohit and Virat to go to West Indies (for the World Cup) as openers. However, I believe that you should have a young player at the beginning of the innings and one of these experienced players should have the responsibility of shaping the innings in the middle order. If these experienced players get out early, it has a negative impact on the team. Therefore, between Rohit and Virat, I will use one in the top order and the other in the third order.
,
Tags: IPL 2024, Rohit Sharma, T20 World Cup, Virat Kohli
FIRST PUBLISHED: April 9, 2024, 14:51 IST