Virat Kohli Quips Away Failure As Opening Batsman
Virat Kohli led the Indian cricket team to a 2-1 victory over England in the three-match Twenty20 International series.
Highlights
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India won the 3-match T20I series vs England 2-1
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They had also won the ODI series 2-1
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Virat Kohli's men clinched the 5-match Test series 4-0
Virat Kohli has a lot going for him, with success in his maiden series as ODI and T20 Internationals have added to his credentials as a good Test captain. His bowlers have by and large delivered every time they were asked to, not least on Wednesday, when Yuzvendra Chahal's 6/25 won Kohli his first T20I series. But amidst all the success, his promoting himself as opener for the 20-over matches has not really worked out well, with only 52 runs coming from three matches.
The question came up during the post-match press conference in Bengaluru on Wednesday, when a reporter asked Kohli about his failure as an opener.
Kohli's response evoked laughter.
"Maine IPL mein batting ki thi as an opener. Char hundred banaye the. Tab kisi ne kuch nahi bola. Ab match mein run nahi banaye to problem ho gayi (I batted as an opener in the IPL and scored four centuries. No one said anything then. Now I didn't score so it has become a problem)," he said.
Expect @imVkohli to be witty. Sample this one from the post-match press conference. #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/JytGocbcxo
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 1, 2017
"That time people were saying 'oh! such a revelation'. Now I don't score in two innings. Focus on others as well. There are 10 other players in the team. If I do everything so what will the others do?"
Kohli was named skipper for the ODI and T20I sides shortly before the series with England when Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped down. He has the penchant of shuffling things, which included bringing Dhoni up the order in Bengaluru, leading to India getting a 250-plus score.