Saba Karim, a former Indian wicketkeeper, said on Wednesday that the manner in which star batter Virat Kohli handled his innings during India’s match against Hong Kong in the Asia Cup 2022 did not bother him in the least.
The fact that it took Kohli 44 deliveries to achieve his undefeated 59 runs prompted quite a few people to voice their concerns. Karim is of the opinion that the top order really needs someone of Kohli’s stature to offer the much-required solidity for the innings.
The former Indian captain did get off to a shaky start, but he picked up his game tremendously in the latter stages of the match, which contributed to his team’s massive score of 192/2.
What did Saba Karims ay about Virat Kohli?
Saba Karim gave an interview to India News Sports on Friday, in which he discussed the reasons why Virat Kohli should not maintain his current strategy and not worry too much about being too aggressive. He said:
“Virat Kohli has always been the kind of batsman who, after facing 15-20 balls in a T20 match, accelerates tremendously well and scores runs at a rapid clip. In his batting, we were able to see the much-needed clarity of mind that was required. Therefore, I have no doubt that the more he plays, the more skilled he will become. You need a batsman like that in the top three who can bring stability to the squad, and Kohli is providing precisely that for the team.”
The middle order of the Men in Blue’s batting lineup came through for them in both of their Asia Cup matches, which was important since the top order of the lineup was unable to get the team off to a strong start. However, Rajkumar Sharma, who has been Virat Kohli’s coach since he was a youngster and who was also present on the panel, emphasised the need to make the most of the fielding limits.
“It was well known that India was a top-heavy team, and their top three players had a history of winning games single-handedly over the course of the previous three to four years. Even though we have a lot of batting depth and our middle order has been playing extremely well, we still need to make the most of our powerplay opportunities in the important games, and for that, we need our top order to be blazing on all cylinders,” he said.
