Former India head coach Ravi Shastri heaped praise on Virat Kohli after he scored his maiden century in T20I cricket in the Asia Cup 2022 Super Four match against Afghanistan on Thursday (September 8).
Kohli smashed an unbeaten 122 runs in 61 balls, laced with 12 fours and six sixes, and added 119 runs with KL Rahul (62) for the first wicket to help Team India score 212/2 against Afghanistan.
Chasing 213 runs for victory, Afghanistan managed 111/8, and India won by 101 runs on Thursday in Dubai to complete their Asia Cup 2022 campaign. Notably, Kohli amassed 276 runs in five innings at an average of 92 in the Asia Cup 2022, where India could win only three matches.
Following his remarkable knock, Shastri said that Kohli’s performance as an opener allowed national selectors to think about whether they could play him as an opener in the shorter format of the game.
Ravi Shastri said while commentating on Star Sports: “I think what today's innings of Virat Kohli has done, is that it has thrown the spanner in the works. It is allowed now for the selectors to think, 'do we need a third opener?'”
He signed off by saying, “When Virat Kohli is there, you got KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma, and Virat could well be the third opener in case there's an injury. It allows you to have an extra fast bowler, as well as an extra batsman in the middle order. So, it does open some opportunity.”
India will next play Australia and South Africa in three T20Is each at home.
