New Delhi: Former India cricketer VVS Laxman feels that Virat Kohli should play with freedom in the upcoming five-match T20I series against England. Indian skipper Virat Kohli might be one of the most celebrated cricketers today, however, his recent performances do not suggest that. Kohli’s performance of late has been under the scanner. He has barely been scoring in the past few matches, he also registered a couple of ducks in the recently concluded series against England.
Terming Kohli as a top-notch batsman and the depth in India’s batting line-up Laxman suggests that he should go and express himself. He said Kohli is a stroke player and it’s not necessary for him to play an anchor role in every match.
“I feel that Virat Kohli is a class batsman, he’s an outstanding batsman and with depth and quality in the Indian batting line-up, I think he should go and express himself. It’s not necessary for him to play the anchor role, because we know that he’s a stroke player. If he plays with positive intent, if he plays his high percentage shots, not only his strike rate will be high, but his consistency also will be there for everyone to see – he’s a match-winner,” Laxman said.
“With Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul opening the innings, and then you have got Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, I think they have a lot of depth. So, Virat Kohli should go out and express himself and play with a lot of freedom, and that’s when he’s very dangerous,” he added.
Laxman also highlighted that England have a strong pace attack which can pose a threat to the Indian batting line-up.
“I definitely think it’s a strong fast bowling unit as far as England is concerned because they have got a lot of variations; they’ve got the pace in the form of Mark Wood and Archer. Good death bowling options in the form of Jordan; Ben Stokes can be their all-rounder. But their spin department looks a little weak compared to their fast bowling department,” Laxman concluded.
