KL Rahul was a bit surprised when asked if Virat Kohli, who scored his first goal of the T20I century in the match against Afghanistan in the Asian Cup, should go on to score the opening goal at the World Cup with with Rohit Sharma or not.
With Rohit Shama opting out of the competition that didn’t matter to Afghanistan, Kohli opened the showdown with Rahul.
The question arises because if Kohli opens the ball, it means Rahul, whose T20 batting method has been under the scanner, will be sidelined.
“Toh kya mai khud baith jaun? (Should I sit out, then?),” confused Rahul, clearly not amused, retorted.
India’s vice-captain firmly believes that Kohli is not dependent on opening the slot to get a huge score.
“You get confidence if you play 2-3 innings, really happy that he can play like that. You all know Virat Kohli, you’ve been watching him for so many years, it’s not like he’ll only score the century if he opens the ball, if he hits the ball in 3rd place, then he can also score the century. It’s all about the role and the role of a certain player,” he added.
But no one can downplay how the team gets a boost when their best hitter’s score runs.
“Obviously, Virat’s goals are a big bonus for the team, and the way he played against Afghanistan, I know he’s very pleased.
“He worked on his game and that worked great today. As a team, it’s important for every player to have time in between,” said the reserve captain.
For Rahul, even during the lull of the past three years, there has been no change in Kohli’s mindset or work ethic.
“Clearly, Virat’s celebration was more relaxed. His thinking, attitude and work ethic have not changed in the last 2-3 years. There is no difference in how he prepares for the match.
“He (Kohli) always had that desire, I think we were also very number-obsessed, obsessed with those three digits, and we thought, if someone is scoring hundreds, there’s only one he is in style. His contributions have been phenomenal over the past 2-3 years,” Rahul said.
Kohli’s mark is always striving for perfection in her pursuit of excellence, Rahul feels.
“As a player, you always want to be perfect or you want to challenge yourself towards excellence, he has always been that player. Even in this phase, he is in the present moment and he is already working on his game. It was a lesson for our entire team,” Rahul said.
While Kohli himself was pleasantly surprised that his most awaited 71st-hundredth came in the shortest form, Rahul wasn’t surprised at all.
“In that dressing room, none of us were surprised to see what he did today. I’m sure this will give him even more confidence, he will obviously cherish these hundreds of things and this will also build a great amount of confidence for the whole team,” he added. .
