Former India keeper-batter Deep Dasgupta has urged Virat Kohli to take inspiration from Rohit Sharma and give the Indian team momentum if he wishes to continue opening the innings for India in the Super 8s stage of the T20 World Cup 2024.

Kohli had an incredible IPL 2024 as an opener for RCB, where he scored 741 runs to claim the Orange Cap. This led to Indian team management benching Yashasvi Jaiswal to let Virat Kohli open the innings with Rohit Sharma.

However, the batting maestro has failed to replicate the same numbers in the T20 WC and has registered three consecutive single-digit scores - 1,4 and 0.

Former India cricketer Deep Dasgupta feels that Kohli needs to make an impact at the top, and he doesn't need to take it deep, but scoring 30 runs off 20 balls is crucial for the team.

"We are talking about runs, which is important, but if you are opening and especially in this format, impact is important. You might score 30 runs but if those 30 runs come in 20 balls, that is more important than you scoring 50 runs off 45 balls. So the impact is very important," he said on Star Sports.

He further asked Virat Kohli to emulate his opening partner Rohit Sharma and attempt to give India flying starts in white-ball formats.

"These are matches and pitches where you will have to play such knocks. If you take Rohit's example, he might not have scored big runs in the last one to one-and-a-half years, but he gives momentum in every innings. 20-25 runs in 15 balls is not a bad innings. If he scores a fifty or a hundred, that is very good, but even if he contributes with a 15-ball 25, he has done a job," the former India wicketkeeper-batter added.

India will clash with Afghanistan in Barbados in their first Super 8s stage game on June 20.