Parthiv Patel, the former keeper-batter has made an interesting observation regarding the constant experiments being made in the Indian team. He claimed that the Men in Blue are trying various permutations and combinations to ensure that out-of-form Virat Kohli fits into the playing XI.
There have been question marks over the former Indian captain’s place in the team, especially in the T20I format, as India have been shuffling the batting order. Rishabh Pant opened in England, while Suryakumar Yadav walked out to bat with Rohit Sharma in the first T20I against the West Indies on Friday (July 29).
Parthiv Patel: Indian Team Making Unexpected Changes To Fit Virat Kohli In The XI
The 33-year-old former India captain had failed to cross the 20-run mark in six innings across all three formats of the game during the tour of England. Notably, India’s star batter has also been rested for the five-match T20I series against West Indies that follows the ODIs.
Virat Kohli scored only 11 and 20 in the 5th rescheduled Test against England. His poor form continued in T20Is too as he failed to make a mark on his comeback.
The batting superstar was out for just 1 off 3 balls in the 2nd T20I and scored 11 off 6 balls in the 3rd T20I before a minor groin strain ruled him out of the 1st ODI. In the two ODIs that he played on the tour, Virat Kohli registered scores of 16 and 17.
Asked for his views on the Men in Blue making unexpected changes in the batting order, Parthiv Patel said: “Whatever changes we are seeing are happening because India want to fit Virat Kohli in the XI.”
He also opined that Virat Kohli missed a good opportunity to find some form by skipping the West Indies tour.
Parthiv Patel elaborated: “I would have liked Virat Kohli to play the one-day series. It’s an easier option to come back into form. There are 50 overs and a lot of time, where you can get your 70-80 runs like Shikhar Dhawan or Shubman Gill did, at a run-a-ball.”
There were mixed reactions to the decision to rest Virat Kohli for the entire Windies series, considering his poor form. Captain Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya, who were given a break for the one-dayers, joined the squad for the T20Is. All three featured in the opening game of the five-match series on Friday.
Parthiv Patel Not Surprised By Rohit Sharma’s Decision To Promote Suryakumar Yadav As An Opener
While a few fans and critics were surprised with India’s decision to open with Suryakumar Yadav, Parthiv Patel wasn’t among them. He referred to Rohit Sharma’s pre-match talk, where the Indian captain made it clear that the team wanted to try out a few things.
Talking about the constant changes, the former player said: “Rohit Sharma said in the pre-match conference, ‘we know there are holes to fill, and that is the reason why we are going to try different things’. They did that with Rishabh Pant, giving him a full series in England. Now, we might see Suryakumar opening in the entire series. We might see Ravindra Jadeja bowling in the powerplay, just to see what he can produce.”
Suryakumar Yadav, who had a poor one-day series, looked good during his stay in the first T20I. He slammed three fours and a six but was dismissed for 24 off 16, trying to take on Akeal Hosein. India restricted the hosts to 122/8 in the 191-run chase, registering a 68-run victory to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20I series.