After pulling off a clean sweep in the three-match ODI series, the focus now shifts towards India’s three-game T20I series against West Indies, starting with the first match on Wednesday, February 16. All eyes will be on Virat Kohli once again following his poor show in the ODI series. On the eve of the first T20I, former India pacer Ajit Agarkar shared his views on Kohli, who will return to the T20 team for the first time since giving up the captaincy last year. He said that even when Kohli was the skipper, “his runs didn’t dry up” despite the added pressure, which are signs of a great captain.
“I don’t think it will be any different to the batsmen, I think one of the top things about Virat Kohli, when he was captain was, that he didn’t let his form falter. His runs didn’t dry up with the extra pressure that can happen sometimes – that didn’t happen with him which was his greatness as a captain as well,” Agarkar said while speaking on Star Sports show ‘Game Plan’.
Agarkar also said that since the pressure of captaincy is off Kohli’s shoulders, it’s up to the management to decide how the 33-year-old should approach his innings, adding that his runs are crucial for Team India.
“So, now that the captaincy pressure is off there might still be a role for him whether that’s to play a bit more aggressively or still bat the whole innings and the other guys bat around him and bat more aggressively. I think that’s for the team management to decide, but Virat Kohli’s runs are so crucial for India – every time he scores runs India invariably end up winning. So, his form is crucial to India’s success as well,” he added.
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The first T20I will be followed by the second and third games on Friday and Sunday, respectively. All three T20Is will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Catch all the live action from the India-West Indies T20I series from February 16th, 2022, Wednesday, 7:30 PM onwards, LIVE & Exclusive on the Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar VIP
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