IPL 2018: Virat Kohli to give up his opening slot

Indian skipper Virat Kohli has had a great time with the RCB ever since he opened the innings for them. He set the tournament on fire in 2016 when he went on to score four centuries in a single season. Furthermore, Virat also ended that season as the league run-scorer ever in a single year with 973 runs. Last year too, when entire RCB team failed miserably, Virat still ended the season as the highest run scorer for his team.

However, there is a bad news for the fans and the franchise. Skipper Virat Kohli has decided not to open, at least for the season opener this year. With a relatively strong side this year, it is the best chance for RCB to win the tournament. But, Virat not opening the innings might affect their chances. Even though he won’t open, the team has got its bases covered.

Too many opening options

The Royal Challengers Bangalore brought too many openers this year at the auction. They have players like Brendon McCullum, Parthiv Patel, Quinton de Kock, Mandeep Singh and a few others in their ranks to open the innings. Given the options, Virat has decided to go back to the No 3 position where he has had quite a lot of success. The India captain has scored 1,750 runs as an opener from 43 innings at an average of 53.03.

“In the past, it was more or less that I had to. I quite enjoyed that role. Predominantly, I will start at number three, having specialists at that order and that I have done well for Indian team at no 3. I have a good understanding of playing at that position (No 3) and gives the team a lot of stability. I see myself starting there but it depends on who we playing against. But we are going to be flexible, adapting to different conditions,” said Kohli.

Virat also spoke about RCB‘s bowling. He said that their bowling will take quite a few by surprise this year. “It’s not going to be RCB batting versus KKR bowling. You will be surprised to see our bowling dominating in this IPL. It will be a pleasant surprise for everyone to see RCB’s bowling coming along nicely and not just relying on batting,” said Kohli.

Thoughts on Kolkata Knight Riders

RCB were shot out for their lowest ever score of 49 and Kohli said they have put it behind immediately after the match. “We don’t have bad records here. It was just a one-off game we had here. It was bizarre, very rarely you get out for 49 with that kind of batting.”

Virat also heaped praises on Dinesh Karthik. “I am very happy for him that he has been given this responsibility. He has got a really good cricketing brain. I am sure he will do a good job for KKR,” he concluded.

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