T20 World Cup 2024: Virat Kohli isn't an ideal opening choice for Team India, reckons AB de Villiers

Add as a preferred source on Google

New Delhi, May 22: Virat Kohli has had roaring success as opener in the IPL 2024 but his good friend AB de Villiers reckons the talismanic Indian batter isn't an ideal candidate to open innings for Team India in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024, scheduled to be held in the USA and Caribbean.

De Villiers - who has played a lot of cricket with Kohli at the RCB - feels the best position for the Delhi cricketer is number three, where he's scored truckload of runs in international cricket.

Kohli has amassed 708 runs for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the season thus far at a 150 plus strike rate, shutting the critics who questioned his intent against spinners in the middle overs earlier in the tournament.

Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal make for a potent right-left opening combination but to accommodate Suryakumar Yadav at number three, Kohli could be asked to open at the expense of Jaiswal in the ICC event beginning June 1. However, De Villiers feels the former India captain opening is not a good idea.

"I feel he's a number three batsman and that's where he's most impactful. He's almost like the captain of the batting team everywhere he goes. He keeps the calmness and the composure within the batting unit," the South African great told PTI in a select media interaction arranged by JioCinema on Wednesday (May 22).

"I know Virat himself really enjoys opening, which is great. You've got to respect that from a man who's played the game for many years. He understands his game really well and he understands what he wants out of the game as well.

"But if I was playing a TV game, Xbox, he would come in at number three in my team. I feel there's too much risk in those first couple of overs to go and ask Virat to take the game on, to hit the ball in the air. All I want him to do is to bat between overs 4 and 16-17, somewhere there. "I feel that's where he's best in the world by a country mile and that's where he's most impactful," he asserted.

'Criticise Kohli at your own peril'

For someone who has played with and against Kohli for years, de Villiers has seen from close quarters how the Indian star deals with criticism. The great Sunil Gavaskar was among those who had questioned Kohli's approach in the early part of the tournament and the champion batter responded with a barrage of runs at an impressive strike rate.

"Yeah, I enjoyed that," he said when asked about the constant debate over Kohli's strike rate over the course of the season. "I thought it was... really bad for someone like that for a hero and a role model of the country to get so much criticism around that. But the way I know him, I just knew and that's exactly what I mentioned on my show. I said, guys, you have no idea what happens to this guy when he catches criticism.

"The many years I've played against him, I used to tell the players in the team room, you do not say one word to Virat on the pitch because he will come out and he will score a big 100 if you try and chirp him.

"So maybe it was a blessing in disguise, getting a bit of criticism, because stuff like that motivates him so much. And maybe someone should come out just before this game tonight and say something bad to him. I'm praying for that," he said ahead of the Eliminator against Rajasthan Royals.

(With PTI Inputs)