‘I’m not happy but…’: India Batting Coach Vikram Rathour on Virat Kohli’s Lean Patch in T20 World Cup

Team India has won in the ongoing T20 World Cup, in the US and West Indies. After finishing as the top team in Group A, Rohit Sharma & Co defeated Afghanistan in the opening match of the Super 8 on Wednesday. A win in their next match, against Afghanistan, will take them closer to the semi-finals and batting coach Vikram Rathour is keen seeing Virat Kohli rediscover his lost rhythm.

Kohli entered the tournament after enjoying a purple patch in the IPL. He finished the season with 741 points and the Oranjepet. However, his performance during the ongoing tournament was far from what he showed at home. So far, he has achieved scores of 1, 4, 0 and 24 in four matches, while still waiting for a big hit from one of the best hitters in the game.

Speaking to the pre-match presser, batting coach Rathour said he would like to see Kohli get back into the runs but added that the former captain’s poor run will allow the less experienced players to step up to join and contribute to the team’s cause.

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“I am not satisfied. I would love to see him come on and score more runs,” Rathour said when asked about the team’s unbeaten run in the event without Kohli’s contribution.

“But yes, it’s good to be challenged every now and then. You know, the guys who sometimes don’t get too much batting in India, they are the ones who got scores today and our middle order came to play. So it was good to see,” he said.

India will play Bangladesh in Antigua on Saturday. The team has four spinners and given the conditions in the Caribbean, this makes the team stronger.

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“I believe we have always had depth as a team. But yes, these conditions might suit us better because we can afford to play with two or three spinners sometimes. So I believe this can be our best team. That is our strength.