Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting reckons the selectors should opt for Virat Kohli to open with Rohit Sharma in the T20 World Cup. The DC coach backed Kohli to perform well in the marquee tournament, terming him as a player who gave his best in big games. Ponting also noted that fans in India always wanted to find a reason to exclude the batting maestro from the side or try to reason why he wasn’t good compared to others.
Virat Kohli to open for India in T20 World Cup? Ponting thinks so
“They (selectors) have still got a decision to make because (Yashasvi) Jaiswal is in that squad and one thing they haven’t got a lot in their team is left-hand batters,” Ponting noted.
“So they’ve got a decision to make with Jaiswal, but I’m pretty sure that they’ll go with Kohli and Rohit Sharma (as openers),” he added.
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Further, Ponting backed Kohli to perform well on the big stage, noting that he could do so if he had the right players around him who fulfilled their responsibilities.
“It’s funny with Virat. I think people in India just always try to find a reason not to pick him or a reason why he’s maybe not as good as some of these other guys in the T20 game,” he said.
“He (Kohli) is the first pick for me for India. He can play his role at the top. And if you’ve got the right guys around him scoring (like) Suryakumar (Yadav)…Rohit Sharma’s going to have a high strike rate. These other guys can go in there and play their way,” Ponting adds.
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