Do it for Virat Kohli: Suresh Raina urges India to win T20 World Cup for captain

Suresh Raina said India need to get behind Virat Kohli and win the T20 World Cup 2021 to give a perfect send-off to their captain.

Virat Kohli in a file photo. (Image Credit: Twitter)
By Arnab Mukherji | Oct 17, 2021 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina has urged the current members of the national squad for the ongoing edition of the T20 World Cup, to win the tournament for skipper Virat Kohli. Kohli will be ending his captaincy career in the shortest format following the conclusion of the tournament. A glorious end to his journey might well mark the perfect tribute to a player who has been hailed for his leadership. Kohli further brought an end to his journey as a captain with Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) recently. However, he did not enjoy the opportunity to bow out on a high with the team suffering a defeat in the Eliminator of the 2021 edition.

“Just need to go out there and execute now”

“For India, the message at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is simple – do it for Virat Kohli. It will probably be his last time at this tournament as captain, so it’s very important for him to make everyone believe we can do it and for us to get behind him. India fans can’t wait for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 to start for this reason. We have the players, we have the momentum – we just need to go out there and execute now,” said Raina in his column for ICC.

“The conditions in UAE are very similar to what we play in India and also in Pakistan. It’s a good opportunity for the Asian teams to come and play their natural game. For me, the key to success for India’s batting lies in the top three. Rohit Sharma is a gun player – he has a brilliant record at ICC events in the past and had a great IPL. We need Rohit, KL Rahul and Virat to bat through to 15 overs and lay the platform. They can set the momentum for the India team by doing this. There are lots of electric combinations in the middle order and obviously Rishabh Pant is going to play a key role there. Hardik Pandya is also very capable as a power hitter. But if the top three are still there at that stage of the innings, there is no target that India can’t chase,” he added.

‘Not concerned by Varun’s lack of experience’

Raina believes that Varun Chakravarthy will be India’s trump card, adding that mystery spinners are going to be extremely difficult to deal with on the sluggish pitches in the UAE.

“My experience in the IPL was that the wickets in UAE and Oman will be very, very challenging when it comes to the mystery spinners. That makes Varun Chakravarthy the main guy in the India bowling attack. He has shown he can exploit the pace of the pitches. Varun has only played three T20Is but I’m not concerned by any lack of experience,” said Raina.

The former Indian cricketer recently won the 2021 edition of the IPL with Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Raina termed the triumph as a special experience.

“There will be changes, definitely. We have played all the finals (The core group). Have won the title 4 times. We have left on a very good note. Last year, we were not able to qualify but this year we won the title in the UAE. There were emotions when we were leaving the bio-bubble. Everybody was missing each other. What happens next year is something no one knows but we will cherish the trophy that we have won,” said the cricketer in an interaction with AajTak as quoted by India Today.





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