Virat Kohli does not need us, we need him: Bumrah
Bumrah, however, stressed that Kohli knows his cricket better than anyone else and that his experience of batting in these challenging conditions was essential from the team’s perspective.
In the second ODI against Australia in Rajkot, the Karnataka batsman played a blistering knock of 80 runs off 52 balls and bagged the Man of the Match award.
Amid the ongoing fuss about where KL Rahul should bat in the packed Indian batting lineup, India skipper Virat Kohli said on Friday that it is important to not leave a player like Rahul out of the team.
In the second ODI against Australia in Rajkot, the Karnataka batsman played a blistering knock of 80 runs off 52 balls to give India the much-needed impetus in the final 10 overs before boasting his lightning and safe hands behind the stumps. Rahul’s overall effort helped India win the second ODI by 36 runs and he became the Man of the Match.
“It’s important to not leave someone like KL out. You saw how he batted today. This is probably the best he’s played at the international level. The knock showed maturity and class, and we know exactly what we’re doing in the dressing room,” Kohli said in the post-match presentation ceremony as quoted by IANS.
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“When you are playing well, it seeps through into your other skills as well. KL keeping like that certainly gives us another option to think about. He is becoming a multi-dimensional player, and it’s really great when players step up like this,” the skipper added.
India, who had lost the first match by 10 wickets in Mumbai, levelled the three-match series with the win in Rajkot. The decisive final ODI will be played at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday.
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