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Cricket Players‘Sorry! I can’t take Babar in my team': Ex-IND star enlists top 5 T20I batters in 2022, gives third place to Virat Kohli
Former India opener has hailed the transformation that Kohli underwent from wretched form to reaching the peak. On his YouTube channel, he rated the top five T20I batters in 2022, and gave Kohli the third position in his list.
One of the major highlights in cricket in 2022, was the surreal return to form by Virat Kohli. The former India captain was going through a lean patch before the Asia Cup 2022. He had not hit an international century for 1020 days, something which was amiss from his usual run-machine self. The century drought had ended when he smashed his 71st century against Afghanistan in the super four stage of the Asia Cup 2022. Since then, there was no looking back as the superstar batter burned the charts in the T20 World Cup 2022, finishing as the highest run-getter in the tournament with 296 runs in six matches at an incredible average of 98.66. As 2022 draws to a close, Kohli is the second highest run-scorer for India in T20Is and sixth highest run-getter for the Men in Blue in ODIs.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra has hailed the transformation that Kohli underwent from wretched form to reaching the peak. On his YouTube channel, Chopra rated the top five T20I batters in 2022, and gave Kohli the third position in his list. Going by stats in 2022 and his own analysis, he ranked the top five batters as Suryakumar Yadav(India), Mohammad Rizwan(Pakistan), Virat Kohli(India), Sikander Raza(Zimbabwe) and Devon Conway(New Zealand). Chopra was all praise for Kohli and highlighted his incredible numbers and performances in difficult conditions in 2022.
"Nobody would have imagined that Virat Kohli would find a place on this list. He struggled for form for years altogether, and his performances were quite underwhelming in the IPL too. Everything was going wrong for him," said Chopra.
"However, by the end of 2022, he has turned things around in remarkable fashion. In T20Is this year, Kohli has scored 781 runs in 20 matches at an average of 55.78 with a strike rate of 138.23. He was outstanding during the T20 World Cup. The pitches were quite challenging against Pakistan and England during the World Cup, but he still managed to score," he added.
However, Chopra didn't include Babar Azam in the top five list despite him being the fifth highest run-getter in T20Is in 2022. He also informed the viewers about the logic behind it.
"Going by the stats, Babar Azam should be the No.5 but I am not including him in my list. He has scored 735 runs in 26 matches and his average is only 32 and strike rate merely 123. Sorry! but I can't take him in my team. I am including Devon Conway's name instead at his place. Conway's numbers in T20Is in 2022 are unbelievable, had he played more matches in the format this year, he would have overtaken SKY(Suryakumar Yadav) to claim the top position," said Chopra.
Interestingly, Kohli is not a part of the Team India squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. He has been included in the ODI squad against Sri Lanka though.
