Ahead of India vs Australia T20I series, Aaron Finch lavished praise on Virat Kohli and called him ‘one of the greatest players of all time’.
It’s difficult to keep Virat Kohli out of the spotlight. After a successful Asia Cup, where Kohli finished with the second-highest run total (276) and a far higher strike rate and average than Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan, the discussion of Kohli’s form (or lack thereof) has been rapidly replaced by ways to control his scoring. Before Australia’s three-match T20I series against India, which begins Tuesday in Mohali, Pat Cummins and Aaron Finch were questioned similarly about Kohli. While the two senior Australian cricketers agreed on Kohli’s level of professionalism, it was Finch who responded with grace.
The skipper of Australia’s T20I team referred to Kohli as “one of the greatest players of all time” and said it would take a lot of “bravery” on the part of the other teams to write off a player of Kohl’s calibre. “To write Virat out at any point would take a very brave man. He has demonstrated for the past 15 years that he is one of the all-time best players. He is a player whose game has improved and evolved over such a long time, especially in T20 cricket. When you are going up against Virat, you always try to be as prepared as you can be “Finch made this statement on Monday in Mohali during a news conference.
Kohli was by far the best Indian batter on display in the nets prior to the start of the series on Tuesday. Both pacers and pacers were targets of his attacks. He was commanding in his drives, pounced on anything that was short, and frequently used his feet against spinners, acting as though it were illegal to be inside the crease.
Regarding Kohli’s record-breaking first T20I century against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup, Finch continued, “He is great… 71 international hundreds, that is just absurd, isn’t it? The best T20I score by an Indian was hit by the former India captain, who scored 122* off 61 balls. He did that while opening the batting alongside KL Rahul because India’s skipper Rohit had chosen to skip their final tournament game because they had no chance of making the championship game.
Due to Kohli’s performance, there has been discussion about whether Rohit and Kohli should always bat at the top of the order. When Rohit stated that Kohli is a backup option and KL Rahul will open the batting for India against Australia and South Africa at home as well as in the World Cup the following month, the argument was put to rest.
“Our third opener is Virat Kohli. We were pleased with his performance in the last Asia Cup game. In the World Cup, KL Rahul will bat first. His work is occasionally overlooked. He is a crucial member of Team India. I just want to be clear that we are thinking clearly for ourselves. Our understanding of what KL Rahul brings to the table for us is quite clear; he is a good player and significant to us. His position at the top is critical to our success, “added Rohit.
“71 hundred” Kohli is not an option, according to Finch, and that is absurd.
