AUSTRALIA/INDIA: Mitchell Johnson, a former Australian pacer, has praised Virat Kohli and said it is excellent for Team India that the 33-year-old is back in the run game.
By hitting his 71st international century against Afghanistan this month, Kohli broke a 1,020-day century drought. He finished the competition as the second-highest scorer with 276 runs at an excellent strike rate of 147.59.
“India benefits when their finest players can score runs and maintain the team’s confidence. He is the player whose appointment to the captaincy shifted the team’s focus. The fact that he is scoring runs will make the squad pleased,” Johnson stated.
The Australian team is currently in Mohali preparing for the opening match of the three-match T20I series against India.
The first of the three T20Is between India and Australia will take place in Mohali on September 20. The other two will take place in Nagpur and Hyderabad on September 23 and 25, respectively.
“They must be aiming to win the series under challenging circumstances. They will feel more confident going into the World Cup as a result. Going into it, they should have a strong and experienced team. The series will be fantastic,” Johnson added.
Johnson noted that anything could happen during a World Cup match when discussing India’s chances at the 2018 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
“Enjoy the moment when it comes to the World Cup. You must concentrate. They’re all sizable teams. Because of the IPL, Indian players are accustomed to playing in front of large crowds and under pressure. All of that (their performance in the Asia Cup) should be behind them,” Johnson remarked.
On October 16, the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is scheduled to begin, lasting until November 13.
Indian Squad for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and 2022
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.
Also Read: Virat Kohli Breaks His Century Drought, Scores an Exceptional Century against Afghanistan
