Cheteshwar Pujara comments on Virat Kohli’s position in T20Is
After his spectacular century against Afghanistan in the Super Four of the Asia Cup, a lot of opinions suggest that Virat Kohli should open. More so, because his 71st ton in international centuries came as an opener and his record as an opener in T20 cricket speaks for itself. He has opened 9 times in T20Is and has 400 runs to his name. However, with Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul already in the team, the opening spot is stacked.
Gautam Gambhir, former India international, was the first one to voice against the idea of Virat Kohli opening. On Friday (9th of September), the ‘Mr. dependable’ of Indian cricket, Cheteshwar Pujara, joined the discussion and stated his opinion that Virat should indeed bat at number three in the T20 World Cup.
“I think he is better off at No.3. He has proved that. KL and Rohit I think they make a good pair as an opening partner. So, I think Virat should continue batting at No. 3 and that he has scored a lot of runs at No.3 so there’s no question about that,” said Pujara in a show with ESPNcricinfo.
‘He’s a master at No. 3’ – Robin Uthappa on Virat Kohli
No one can question Virat Kohli’s impact at the number three position. He is considered as one of the best batters in the cricketing history and throughout his career, he has owned the number three position. Thus, it took no time for Robin Uthappa to call him a master at the number three position.
Former India international and current Chennai Super Kings player, Robin Uthappa thus believes that one should stop this discussion of his batting number.
“He’s a master at that position so I think this game was a lot more about confidence than about whether he will open the batting or should he open the batting. So I think that we should just stop that whole conversation of him opening the batting or not. He should be at No. 3,” said Uthappa in the same show.
The 36-year-old added, “It will bode so well for us just to have Rahul back in form, Rohit striking the way he’s striking, Virat is batting the way he’s batting, Surya batting the way he’s batting. So it bodes for a really dangerous top order right and you want that for India going into a World Cup.”
