T20 World Cup 2024: Should Virat Kohli open in the Final? Sourav Ganguly gives blunt Verdict

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Virat Kohli has had a disappointing campaign in the T20 World Cup 2024. Despite coming into the tournament with a rich vein of form, the India stalwart has struggled in the tournament.

Virat Kohli was handed the opening batter role for the tournament. The batter has opened alongside captain Rohit Sharma but he has been far from his prolific run-scoring form.

Out of the seven matches so far, Kohli has only managed 75 runs at an average of just over 10. The 35-year-old has already been dismissed in ducks twice, while he has gone back to the pavilion with a single-digit score five times.

Amid this, questions have arisen about whether the Indian team management should open with Virat Kohli. With Yashasvi Jaiswal sitting on the wings, experts have also suggested to slot Kohli back to his original no. 3 position.

Sourav Ganguly was one of the few who stated that Virat Kohli must open the batting for India before the start of the tournament, and he has stuck to his opinion. Ganguly also believes Kohli can play a huge part in the Final despite his underwhelming season.

"Virat should open. He just had a World Cup of 700 runs seven months ago. He is human. Sometimes he will also fail, and you have to accept it. People like Kohli, Tendulkar, Dravid, they are institutions for Indian cricket. Three-four matches don't make them weaker players. Don't rule him out in the final tomorrow," Ganguly said on Friday.

Sourav also backed the decision to keep Shivam Dube in the side. The southpaw was included after his excellent form in the IPL with Chennai Super Kings but hasn't been at his devastating best in the tournament.

"Virat is a once-in-a-generation batsman. Dube is in the team because he hits big sixes to spin. He has a role to hit spinners, and he has done very well," the former India captain added.