Virat Kohli in T20s - A conundrum
A look at his IPL performances to suggest his role for India at the upcoming T20 WC
Love him or hate him, Virat Kohli is a giant in the world of cricket. His achievements in Test and ODI cricket are simply outstanding and while he has won some incredible matches T20s for India and RCB as well, his batting approach in this format is sometimes questionable.
Here is a screenshot of his ODI career from Cricinfo. In the 2020-21 period, when he has been “off his game”, he averages nearly 47 with 7 fifties in 12 innings. His last truly average year was 2015. In other words, his record in the format is spotless.
While his T20I numbers look solid on the surface, the truth is he has played only 45 off the 63 games India has played since the start of 2017. In addition, many of these T20I series occur are randomly squeezed into the calendar (with anywhere between 2-5 games at a stretch) and it’s hard to gauge his approach using those games. So it’s better to look at IPL numbers and quite frankly, his numbers just aren’t at the level of an elite T20 batter.
With the exception of 2016, his strike rate is ordinary for a batter that usually bats in the PowerPlay. Top T20 batters around the world hit a boundary every 4 to 5 balls (Russell 3.98, Gayle 4.56, Jason Roy 4.73, Pollard 5) and Kohli comes somewhat close only in 2016. Even considering that most pitches in the last 2 IPLs (2020 & 2021) haven’t been as easy to bat on, striking in the 120s is far from outstanding.
One of the reasons for a lower strike rate is because of Kohli likes to bat deep and and then hit out in the last 6 overs, once set. Even in relatively poor year like 2020, his strike rate in that period was 177 shows how good he can be. The other reason is the need for provide stability if RCB’s explosive batters in Gayle, Aaron Finch (in the past), AB de Villiers and (now) Maxwell fail.
Knowing all this, how should Kohli be asked to bat for India in the upcoming T20 WC?
Let’s first look at the batting combination that India will likely go with at the T20 World Cup:
Rohit Sharma
Virat Kohli
Surya Kumar Yadav
Ishan Kishan / KL Rahul
Rishabh Pant
Hardik Pandya
Ravindra Jadeja
From a stability perspective, nearly every name in the top 7 has the ability to take their time and stabalize if wickets fall early. In addition, Rohit’s strike rate ranges between 120-133 in IPL since 2018. With already one “anchor” in the side, India need to maximize the PowerPlay and that’s why Kohli needs to be aggressive right away.
Winning sides score just under 32% of the total runs in the PowerPlay as per data from the last 5 IPLs. So even on slower UAE pitches where 160 is a good score to defend, India need to be about 51 at the end of the PowerPlay. In other words, the batters need to score at a strike rate of just over 140. The good news for India is that Kohli seems to be already doing better in the PowerPlay than before. In fact, his strike rate in the PowerPlay is actually better this year even compared to IPL 2016. Kohli needs to continue building on this to give India the momentum to set a good target or chase one comfortably.
So then, the only phase of contention remains the middle overs. Post 2016, his strike rate in this phase has never been more 127. This is the phase where his approach has been questioned the most, and he has often looked content rotating the strike without taking any real risks against spinners and those numbers for a player of his quality are simply unacceptable.
His ridiculous record in the death overs for both India and RCB shows what he is capable of once set. Now that he is opening the batting for India, if he bats until the 8th over he will likely have already played 25-30 balls and that should be more than enough to get him going. Kohli needs to show more intent during this period to support Pant and Pandya who are consistency superb.
Regardless of the current form, India are a solid team and should easily qualify for the Semi-Finals. But that game will likely be against England or West Indies - two very aggressive T20 teams - and India will need to maximize every over to enter the Finals for a chance at the title. Therefore, getting the strategy right for each of these phases will be critical.