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'He should go and express himself': Laxman wants Team India's 'outstanding batsman' to play with freedom
"I think he should go and express himself. It’s not necessary for him to play the anchor role, because we know that he’s a stroke player,” Laxman said.
Former Indian batsman VVS Laxman feels that Indian skipper Virat Kohli must go out and express himself in the upcoming T20I series against England which begins from Friday in Ahmedabad.
As the Indian cricket team prepares to lock horns with the No 1 ranked T20I side, all eyes will be on the Indian skipper who had an average Test series against England. Kohli scored 172 runs at an average of 28.67 in six innings. He managed two fifty-plus scores but secured a couple of ducks as well.
While speaking on the Star Sports network, Laxman was of the opinion that Kohli can afford to go for his stroke play as there is enough depth in India’s batting that is capable of taking the pressure off the Indian skipper.
READ | Virat Kohli on the cusp of huge record ahead of 1st T20I against England
“I feel that Virat Kohli is a class batsman, he’s an outstanding batsman and with depth and quality in the Indian batting line-up, I think he should go and express himself. It’s not necessary for him to play the anchor role, because we know that he’s a stroke player. If he plays with positive intent, if he plays his high percentage shots, not only his strike rate will be high, but his consistency also will be there for everyone to see - he’s a match-winner,” Laxman said.
“With Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul opening the innings, and then you have got Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, I think they have a lot of depth. So, Virat Kohli should go out and express himself and play with a lot of freedom, and that’s when he’s very dangerous,” he added.
Laxman also highlighted that England have a strong pace attack which can pose a threat to the Indian batting line-up.
“I definitely think it’s a strong fast bowling unit as far as England is concerned because they have got a lot of variations; they’ve got the pace in the form of Mark Wood and Archer.
“Good death bowling options in the form of Jordan; Ben Stokes can be their all-rounder. But their spin department looks a little weak compared to their fast bowling department,” said Laxman.
