Riding on captain Virat Kohli’s spectacular batting performances, India recently won the three-match T20I series against West Indies.
Kohli made 94 not out in the first T20I at Hyderabad before scoring 19 in the second game at Thiruvananthapuram. Batting in the series decider at Mumbai, the Indian skipper took the Caribbean bowling attack to the cleaners en route his 70 not out off 29 balls.
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While India’s preparations for the next year’s T20 World Cup might have got off to a great start, former England spinner Monty Panesar believes that Virat’s workload might become a problem for the Men in Blue.
“Kohli’s challenge is to perform in every game,” Panesar said at the Ekamra Sports Literature Fest in New Delhi. “He is doing it now but how long can he maintain that? He is burning himself out for the T20 World Cup and needs rest.”
Among all the modern-day batsmen with a minimum of 1500 T20I runs, Kohli is the only one to average above 50 in the shortest format. In 2019, he has scored 466 T20I runs from 10 innings, including three unbeaten half-centuries in his last five innings.
“He is such a great player with dedication to fitness and sports,” Panesar said. “It is so high that that other players are catching up to him. He is in different bracket and that’s normal for him to play with a strike of 120 in almost every game.”
Panesar, who claimed 167 wickets in 50 Tests, also has say his say on India’s pace department which has improved by leaps and bounds in the last couple of years.
“The quality of seamers is better to take out spinners,” he said. “Shami is a great bowler and I would like to see him open the bowling for India. It’s because of Kohli, who has improved the seam department. Spin was good but that is it.”
“But I want to see that same seamers who have done well against Bangladesh do well against South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and England. Only then, we will see,” he added.
Panesar, however, felt that the spinners will be instrumental during the T20 World Cup down under.
“The team which has a good spin department will do well in T20 World Cup,” he said. “You will get pace there because the pitches have it. Batsmen will find it easy. But to get the pace on the ball is the challenge and takes more effort. Spinners is key in Australia.”
(Inputs from Scroll.in)
