Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa feels that Virat Kohli wants to win the ICC T20 World Cup, it doesn’t matter to him whether it happens as a player or as a skipper.
The ICC T20 World Cup 2021 is taking place in United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman. The Qualifiers stage concluded yesterday (22nd October) which saw Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Scotland and Namibia qualifying for the Super 12s stage, which begins today on 23rd October.
The tournament will hold extreme importance for Team India, considering the fact that it will last tournament for Virat Kohli as a T20I skipper and many Indian fans want them to silence all the critics and break the jinx of knockout matches to clinch their first ICC trophy since 2013.
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Though Virat Kohli has taken the Indian Cricket Team to new heights. The 32-year-old is the most successful Test captain country has ever produced and is also one of the best leaders in the One Day Internationals and T20Is. But one thing that he failed in doing is to win an ICC title as a skipper.
However, he would be hoping to end his T20I captaincy stint on high by winning the T20 World Cup 2021, but Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa feels that Virat Kohli would just want to win the T20 World Cup for India, it won't matter to him whether that happens when he is the team's captain or just as a player.
He added that there’s no doubt about Virat Kohli’s captaincy as over the years he has matured a lot and has been exceptional as an Indian skipper, especially in Test cricket.
"What has more value is as a player he still has a long way to go. Knowing Virat, I don't think it matters to him whether he wins as a captain or as a player. He just wants to win a World Cup and I think that's more important.
“That mindset we should shift in our heads, yes the desire is there. He's been an exceptional captain and grown a lot as time has gone. He's matured a lot into his captaincy and has been exceptional over the last couple of years, especially in Test cricket,” Robin Uthappa said on India Today's Salaam Cricket 2021.
Robin Uthappa while talking about Virat Kohli’s form as a batter, said that the Indian skipper will be well aware of the fact that he hasn’t scored runs consistently but he hasn’t looked out of the sorts and has still been really good for international level cricket.
"The intent and the desire to go out there and do well for the country will always be there. Even as far as his batting is concerned, I think he's aware that he hasn't scored as consistently as he has set the standard for himself. The benchmark that he's set for himself is so high that he's not lived up to that same standard.
"But he's not been bad, not been out of sorts at any point. He's still been really good for international level cricket. Just think that he'll go back to the basics and I don't think he's worried about the runs, he's worried about what he can give to the team,” he said.
Uthappa concluded by saying that Virat Kohli should play the role of anchor in the T20 World Cup and every batter should bat around him, which will help Team to post a big total.
“My thinking is, if he plays the anchor's role and everybody bats around him and if he bats till 20 overs, his scores will take care of itself and India's total will be big anyway. And if it comes to the chase, he's the master of it so he'll do it,” he said.
Notably, Team India pounded both England and Australia in the warmup games. They will kick start their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on 24th October in Dubai.
(India Today inputs)
