Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket Players
'His stats in last 2-3 years are better than anyone in T20s': Virat Kohli backs 'champion player' KL Rahul
Although KL Rahul was clean bowled by Mark Wood for a four-ball duck in the 3rd T20I against England, India captain Virat Kohli feels the opener is a 'champion player' and it is just a matter of time before the batsman finds his groove back.
He may have registered consecutive ducks in the last two matches, but KL Rahul has received the backing of India captain Virat Kohli, who feels the batsman is a 'champion player' in T20 cricket and continues to be one of the key India batsmen along with Rohit Sharma at the top.
Despite putting up scores of 0, 1, 0 in his last three T20I matches for India prior to the England game on Tuesday, Kohli and India persisted with Rahul, even if it meant leaving out Suryakumar Yadav.
With Rohit returning, India opted to push Ishan Kishan at No. 3. This meant that Kohli himself sacrificed his preferred spot and batted at No. 4 on Tuesday. Although Rahul was clean bowled by Mark Wood for a four-ball duck, Kohli feels it is just a matter of time before the batsman finds his groove back.
"I was going through a lean patch about two games ago. He (KL Rahul) has been a champion player. If you look at his stats in the last 2-3 years, they are probably better than anyone in T20," Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony after England beat India by eight wickets to take a 2-1 lead.
"He will continue to be one of our main batters along with Rohit at the top of the order. We don't have any concerns there. It's a matter of five-six balls in this format and suddenly you are back in that zone."
Also Read | Twitter comes down hard on Team India after KL Rahul falls for third T20I duck in four innings
As explained at the end of the previous T20I, Kohli pointed out how all-rounder Hardik Pandya is willing to contribute in various roles. Touching upon the topic on Tuesday, Kohli expressed satisfaction with the way Pandya bowled and batted.
With the bat, Pandya provided Kohli able support as the two put on 70 runs for the fifth wicket. Pandya did not appear at his fluent best but managed to club two sixes during his 15-ball 17 before bowling three overs for 22 runs.
"You need to figure out which other all-rounder can be featured into the XI. We want to give Hardik a bit more responsibility with the ball because he's going to be a vital part of this team moving forward. With the ball, he is coming along nicely," said Kohli.
