There is a lot of debate going around Virat Kohli's place in India’s squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, but the star batter is strengthening his selection claims with consistent performances in the ongoing IPL season.
In eight matches so far, Kohli has amassed 379 runs at a strike rate of 150.39 while opening the innings for RCB. He is currently holding the Orange Cap for scoring most runs in IPL 2024.
While the RCB star has received criticism for his strike rate in some innings, former India captain Sourav Ganguly isn’t reading too much into it.
According to Ganguly, Kohli should partner skipper Rohit Sharma at the top of the innings for India in the T20 World Cup 2024 as he is more than capable of hitting a 40-ball century.
"Virat Kohli has got the capability of getting a 40-ball 100 also. As I said at the start, India, with the talent they have, you just need to go and hit. Mindset should be to hit and then we'll see what happens after 5-6 overs," Ganguly told PTI during a select media interaction.
"If you ask me and it's just my personal opinion and I'm not saying that the selectors should do it, because at the end of the day, it's their call, Rohit and Virat should open," he added.
Before the IPL 2024, Yashasvi Jaiswal was the front-runner for the opening role in India’s T20 World Cup squad. However, the young left-hander failed to live up to his high standards in the first half of the ongoing IPL for Rajasthan Royals.
"I don't think Yashasvi's name has dropped too far down the ladder. He's a special player," Ganguly replied, before adding that selection for T20 World Cup shouldn't be based on one IPL season.
"You have to look at every performance. A good team is a balance of experience and youth. Experienced players in India are tremendous and I'm not saying only because of the number of games they have played but it's the performances they've put over a period of time. It's unbelievable.
"So from that point of view, it has to be a mixture of young and youth. I'm sure the selectors are matured enough to see over a period of time, not just one IPL, but 2, 3, 4 IPLs.
"Like someone like Shivam Dube, he did it last year also. You gave him a chance for India, he whacked it there also. So they've done it over a period of time, Rishabh Pant, Dubey, Surya," Ganguly explained.
Rohit Sharma will turn 37 in a few days, while Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja will be 36 by the end of this year.
When asked if there is a need for introducing more young blood in the team, Ganguly said: "There's nothing about young and old, It's about how good you are and that is important for me. How is Jimmy Anderson playing Test cricket as a fast bowler at 41 and bowling 30 overs in an innings in a Test match?
"So there is no hard and fast rule for anything. The only hard and fast rule is talent, ability and performance. Look at MS Dhoni. He bats for 2 overs and hits 4 sixes. I would actually want him to bat more, but just see how good he is."
Sourav Ganguly also urged Lucknow Super Giants skipper KL Rahul to ditch the cautious approach and bat fearlessly in the shortest format.
"But for India, the most important thing in T20 cricket and I said that to Rahul in Australia (T20 World Cup) also, just play without fear. Just go and hit. There is long batting. You can always control if you lose wickets, but just go and hit."
"I think it depends on what the captain and the coach instructs him to do in the middle. The other day I saw him play an innings against Chennai, which Lucknow won, I thought he was exceptional. He played well at the top of the order and did exactly that was required to do at that moment.
"As I said, it's about playing freely and playing without fear. That is a must in T20 cricket. Players like Virat, Rohit, Rishabh (Pant), Rahul, Surya (Yadav), Hardik (Pandya), Shivam Dube of CSK. They are exceptional talent, the six-hitting ability in all of them is enormous."
With the fast-approaching T20 World Cup 2024, Ganguly advised the Indian team to just play "fearless cricket", something that Rohit did during the powerplay of the 50-over World Cup last year.
"It's not drastic change. They have the talent to do that change. We saw how Rohit Sharma batted in the 50 over World Cup. He just came and hit at the top and that's why we were such a good side.
"He just put so much pressure on the opposition in the first 7-8 overs, it gave breathing space to the lower-order, and I think Virat and Rohit should do the same. They are great players."
(With PTI Inputs)
