Former Australian captain Ian Chappell reckons Virat Kohli needs to rekindle his magic if India has to go all the way in the T20 World Cup. Kohli recently returned back to form in the Asia Cup as he scored 276 runs in five matches at an average of 92 and a strike rate of 147.59.
Subsequently, Kohli scored a fine knock of 63 runs in the deciding T20I against Australia and then backed it with another decent unbeaten knock of 49 runs in the second T20I against South Africa.
Kohli has always backed his trademark technique in the shortest format of the game and he hardly hits the ball in the air in the T20I version.
“Kohli is a fine player with a great stroke range, a highly competitive nature, and a thoughtful approach to batting. When asked why he doesn’t indulge in typical short-form risky shots, he replied: “I don’t want them to creep into my Test game.” However, whatever the case – the ageing process, or his having retired as captain – Kohli’s output has started to wane and he needs to rekindle the magic,” Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNcricinfo.
Chappell added that Kohli’s twin centuries at Adelaide in 2014 against Australia remain his favorite innings.
“It’s hard to choose the best player from that talented group. And when you consider that some old-timers preferred Victor Trumper’s artistic style over the acknowledged best batter, Sir Donald Bradman, the difficulty is not surprising. From among these players on their best days, it’s hard to surpass the highly competitive Kohli. His twin centuries in a failed but brave victory attempt at Adelaide Oval in 2014 remain my favorite innings among those produced by this group,” he stated further.
On the other hand, England’s talismanic batter Joe Root has been in the form of his life as he is producing consistent performances for the team. Root was the only player to have scored over 1,000 Test runs in 2021. He finished the year with 1,708 runs from 15 Tests at a staggering average of 61.00.
“Root comfortably heads the list on both runs scored and centuries made, and has also played the most innings. He has an engaging desire to score and collects runs all round the wicket, with a wide array of shots. He is renowned for compiling centuries but he is the only player in this period to reach double figures in terms of hundreds made,” said Chappell.
“Nevertheless, his inability to score a century in Australia despite having played 27 innings there overall is damaging. He has got to 50 on nine occasions without converting any of those into a century. A string of low scores at home against South Africa’s strong pace attack this year is also a warning,” he added.
Virat Kohli will hold the key for India in the T20 World Cup while Joe Root is not part of England’s T20 World Cup squad.
