‘Don’t rule him out’ Sourav Ganguly backs Virat Kohli as opener

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has backed star batter Virat Kohli as an opener despite his poor form during the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 ahead of the final against South Africa.

Kohli has been far from his best in the ongoing tournament and managed to make it into the double digits only once in seven innings.

The right-handed batter has scored just 75 runs in seven innings at a dismal average of 10.7 while playing as an opener.

Many cricket experts suggested that Virat Kohli should play at his regular number three position, where he has excelled throughout his career and boasts a great record.

However, Ganguly firmly backed the star batter, insisting that he must continue to open in T20Is. He emphasized that nobody should count Kohli out for the crucial final.

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“Virat should open. He just had a World Cup of 700 runs seven months ago. He is human. Sometimes he will also fail, and you have to accept it. People like Kohli, Tendulkar, Dravid, they are institutions for Indian cricket. Three to four matches don’t make them weaker players. Don’t rule him out in the final tomorrow,” Ganguly said on Friday.

The former captain further praised Kohli for being a generational talent, meanwhile, he also expressed satisfaction with Shivam Dube’s performance.

“Virat is a once-in-a-generation batsman. Dube is in the team because he hits big sixes to spin. He has a role to hit spinners, and he has done very well,” Ganguly added.

India and South Africa will lock horns in the high-voltage T20 World Cup 2024 final at Kensington Oval, Barbados on June 29.

Both teams are unbeaten in the ongoing mega event as South Africa won all their eight matches while India won seven as one of their group-stage fixtures against Canada was abandoned without a ball bowled.

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