Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin thinks Virat Kohli will play a crucial role in helping India post quality totals on the board in the ODI series against England. The 50-over series between both nations will take place from February 6 to 12 across cities like Nagpur, Cuttack and Ahmedabad.
As per head coach Gautam Gambhir, India will look to maintain their positive intent of T20Is in the ODI format as well. The shortest format saw India fire all cylinders with their aggressive approach in their pursuit of posting big totals on the board. The move received praise in the final T20I, when Abhishek Sharma blasted 135 off 54 balls to help India reach a mammoth total of 247.
After the game, Gambhir hoped that veteran batters like Kohli and Rohit Sharma would continue the same mindset in the ODI format as well.
Appearing on his YouTube channel, Ashwin maintained his confidence of Sharma opting for the aggressive approach, given his style of play in the 2023 World Cup and 2024 T20 World Cup. However, he feels after India continues with the same stance in the powerplay, they need a player like Virat Kohli to steer the team on a comfortable note and provide a final flourish.
The 38-year-old thinks Kohli can play the same role Hardik Pandya and Rinku Singh played for the Men in Blue in the fourth T20I against England in Pune. He said:
“It is important to realise Virat would be playing the role Hardik and Rinku played in T20Is. Who will be the bridge between aggressive batting on top and finishing the batting in the latter end? Virat. Virat has to play to his strengths, and if he regains form, then there is nothing like it for the Indian cricket team. He doesn’t have to change his game at all. Honestly, what is the hurry in ODIs? It is important to do what is right in the 50-over format.”
Virat Kohli on the verge of breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s historic ODI record
Indian star batter Virat Kohli will have an opportunity to break legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s unique record in ODIs. Tendulkar became the first player to score 14000 runs in his 350th ODI innings during the match against Pakistan in Peshawar in 2006. Thereafter, Kumar Sangakkara achieved the milestone in his 378th inning.
Currently, Kohli has scored 13,906 runs in 295 games and is just 94 runs short of achieving another feat in his illustrious career. If it goes well for him, the 36-year-old might become the fastest batter to reach 14,000 runs in the 50-over format in the ODI series against England.
Notably, Virat Kohli is the fastest to reach the landmarks of 8,000 to 13,000 runs in ODIs. Although, he is ranked third on the list in terms of highest run-scorers in the format, he will certainly take the second spot in the near future, while only 328 runs short of Sangakkara.