India are all set to lock horns against England in the semi-final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 on Thursday, June 27 at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. The Men In Blue enter the semis on the back of an unbeaten run in the tournament alongside South Africa. (Streaming | Full Coverage | More Cricket News)
India defeated Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Australia in the Super 8 phase of the T20 World Cup enroute to the semis. However, all the talking point has been around star batter Virat Kohli's dismal performance in the T20 WC.
Former captain has scored only 66 runs in six matches with a highest score of 37 coming against Bangladesh in the Super 8 match. So the question begs to be asked is whether can the Indian management tinker with Kohli's batting position for the semi-final clash?
However, batting coach Vikram Rathour was not in favour of moving Kohli to no. 3. When a reporter quizzed Rathour as to whether the Indian management should consider moving the star batter to the third position in the batting line-up, Rathour responded, "“You are not happy that he is opening now? I thought everyone wanted him to open.”
"We are not thinking on those lines. We are happy with the batting order that we have. If any change happens, that will be to do with the opposition and the conditions that we come across," Rathour said when he was asked about the same.
However, Kohli and Rohit Sharma have batted only once before the T20 WC. If Rohit's blistering 92 against Australia was a vital moment in the game, Kohli's no-show was a huge let down for many of his fans and the team itself.
Kohli's former IPL teammate and friend AB De Villiers had a 'different opinion'. He said, ""I have a different opinion. For the most part of my international career, Virat batting at No. 3 was the biggest threat for us when we played against India. I've always felt like he was the glue of the team in the middle-order. No. 3 is not quite middle-order, it is top-order. But he is so good that he often combined with the middle-order, even down to tailenders. It's just impossible to play against that," De Villiers said on his YouTube channel.
India will look to avenge the defeat of 2022 T20 World Cup against Jos Buttler's England on Thursday, June 27 and all eyes will be on Kohli and his batting position.
