T20 World Cup 2024: AB De Villiers Questions Virat Kohli's Opening Slot For Team India

New Delhi, May 22: Virat Kohli has excelled as an opener in the IPL 2024, but his friend AB de Villiers believes the Indian batter is not the best choice to open for Team India in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024, set to take place in the USA and Caribbean.

De Villiers, who has played extensively with Kohli at Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), suggests that Kohli's optimal position is number three, where he has consistently performed well in international cricket.

Kohli has accumulated 708 runs for RCB this season with a strike rate exceeding 150, silencing critics who doubted his ability against spinners in the middle overs earlier in the tournament.

Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal form a strong right-left opening pair. However, to fit Suryakumar Yadav at number three, Kohli might be asked to open instead of Jaiswal in the ICC event starting June 1. De Villiers, however, feels this is not advisable.

"I feel he's a number three batsman and that's where he's most impactful. He's almost like the captain of the batting team everywhere he goes. He keeps the calmness and the composure within the batting unit," said De Villiers during a media interaction arranged by JioCinema on Wednesday.

"I know Virat himself really enjoys opening, which is great. You've got to respect that from a man who's played the game for many years. He understands his game really well and he understands what he wants out of the game as well."

"But if I was playing a TV game, Xbox, he would come in at number three in my team. I feel there's too much risk in those first couple of overs to go and ask Virat to take the game on, to hit the ball in the air. All I want him to do is to bat between overs 4 and 16-17, somewhere there. I feel that's where he's best in the world by a country mile and that's where he's most impactful," he asserted.

Having played with and against Kohli for years, de Villiers has observed how Kohli handles criticism. Sunil Gavaskar was among those who questioned Kohli's approach early in the tournament, but Kohli responded with a series of high-scoring performances at an impressive strike rate.

"Yeah, I enjoyed that," de Villiers said when asked about the debate over Kohli's strike rate throughout the season. "I thought it was... really bad for someone like that for a hero and a role model of the country to get so much criticism around that. But knowing him, I just knew and that's exactly what I mentioned on my show. I said, guys, you have no idea what happens to this guy when he catches criticism."

"The many years I've played against him, I used to tell the players in the team room, you do not say one word to Virat on the pitch because he will come out and he will score a big 100 if you try and chirp him."

"So maybe it was a blessing in disguise, getting a bit of criticism, because stuff like that motivates him so much. And maybe someone should come out just before this game tonight and say something bad to him. I'm praying for that," he said ahead of the Eliminator against Rajasthan Royals.

(With PTI Inputs)