Team India registered a series-clinching six-wicket victory over Afghanistan in the second T20I at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore on Sunday (January 14).
The match marked Virat Kohli’s return to T20Is for the first time since November 2022. On his comeback, the star batter scored 29 runs off 16 balls, including five boundaries.
Kohli is not someone who goes after the bowling from the word go but he opted for an aggressive route against Afghanistan in the second T20I.
Virat’s weakness against spin in the powerplay was highlighted ahead of his return. However, the right-hander came out all guns blazing against Mujeeb Ur Rahman, getting off the mark with a lofted cover drive against the off-spinner and then hitting him for a boundary with a slog sweep.
Kohli smashed Mujeeb for 18 runs from just 7 balls, taking down his negative match-up. With this knock, he also impressed former India cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra.
"I think he did something like this before the last T20 World Cup. He tried to hit from the word go. See, he is capable of doing it. If Virat Kohli decides that he wants to be aggressive from the word go, if he wants to show that kind of intent, he will do it. No doubt about it," Chopra said on Jio Cinema.
"But you have to think about what avatar of Virat Kohli is best suited for the team. You have to figure that out. Going after every delivery -- that approach will neither suit Virat nor Rohit, I will be very honest,” he added.
Aakash Chopra then explained why India might need the anchor in Virat Kohli during the T20 World Cup 2024, slated to be held in the West Indies and USA from June 1 to June 29.
"When you are talking about the West Indies and the USA, the pitches there are likely to be in the range of 150-160. They are not going to be 200-220 pitches. If that is going to be the case, then Virat Kohli needs to be the anchor. He needs to take the game deep and hold the innings together. His approach will give freedom to the rest of the players. I think his role in T20s is going to be the same," Chopra stated.
"If you expect Virat Kohli to come and strike every delivery and score at a rate of 180-200, you will be underselling Virat Kohli. You need Virat Kohli's strike rate to stay at 139, if he goes in search of 189, then his consistency will go away," he further remarked.
Furthermore, Chopra came up with an analogy to reiterate his point that Kohli’s presence in the middle is enough to scare the opponents.
"Why are we scared of going into the jungle? Because there is the lion. The lion doesn't eat you all the time, but the fear is there because you know that the lion is there. Likewise, Virat Kohli is the lion here. He will be there in the middle, he might not hurt you as much, but you know till the time he is there, the chances of India winning are high. He will be able to switch gears anytime and finish games.
"It's important that Virat Kohli stays in the middle like it's important for the lion is there in the jungle. Whether it hunts or not is a separate story," he commented.
