Former RCB captain Virat Kohli scored 973 runs in one IPL season as an opener.
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Former India and RCB captain Virat Kohli has been a pale shadow of his former self in the IPL 2022. He was expected to bat more freely in the ongoing season after quitting the captaincy roles but it looks like it could turn out to be one of his worst.
Kohli has scored 119 runs at an average of 17 and a strike rate of 122.68 in his last eight appearances for RCB. He was, moreover, sent packing for golden duck in his last two innings.
But his former RCB teammate Parthiv Patel believes that Kohli could flourish as an opener as he would be responsible for making a headway for the team and control the situation.
“When you go in as opener, you go with a blank mind as you are starting from 0-0. No one has scored more runs than Virat Kohli at No.3 for India. But he has not gone through such a phase before,” Patel told Cricbuzz.
“As an opener, one doesn’t have to play according to the game situation. You are not thinking that ‘the score is 10 for 1, so I have to play accordingly’.”
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There has been no lack of preparation on Kohli’s part. But his bat has failed to do the talking. Patel, however, believes that a change of fortune will do him a world of good.
“Virat would have not left any stone unturned as far as preparations are concerned. Runs are not far away. A change of luck or number could hopefully help him,” said Patel.
Kohli had opened alongside Devdutt Padikkal in the previous edition of the IPL 2022. The top-order batter had amassed the IPL record haul of most runs in a season(973) while batting as an opener in 2016.
