Asia Cup 2022: "You have got to give credit to Virat Kohli" - Sanjay Manjrekar on former skipper embracing India's new batting approach

Sanjay Manjrekar feels Virat Kohli deserves credit for trying to embrace India's aggressive batting approach during the T20I series against England.

Kohli, who has been short of runs in recent times, tried to play aggressively right from the outset in the T20Is against England. The approach, however, did not yield him the desired results as he was dismissed cheaply in both his innings.

During an interaction on the Sports 18 show 'Sports Over the Top', Manjrekar was asked whether Indian fans should celebrate or be a little concerned that Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Kohli are coming back together. He responded:

"They should celebrate because class is back. Virat Kohli has had some first-hand experience of this new approach of India in T20 cricket in England. So he has embraced that, not with great success, but he has embraced that. You have got to give credit to Virat Kohli."

Manjrekar pointed out that the former Indian skipper was selfless in his approach during the England series. The cricketer-turned-analyst explained:

"He didn't care about whether he was getting runs or whether he was getting out because he desperately needed runs in England and he is looking for international runs but he still sort of backed up the Indian team's new philosophy. He was trying to hit boundaries from ball number one."

Kohli was dismissed for just a solitary run in the first T20I he played while trying to play a big shot off Richard Gleeson's bowling. The modern batting great smashed a David Willey delivery straight to Jason Roy at short extra cover in the final T20I.

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"It comes more naturally to him than perhaps Virat Kohli" - Sanjay Manjrekar on KL Rahul

KL Rahul is likely to open with Rohit Sharma

Manjrekar feels Rahul might find it easier than Kohli to adapt to India's aggressive batting approach. He reasoned:

"KL Rahul is exceptional, he has the big game. It comes more naturally to him than perhaps Virat Kohli. This is the guy who can go through an entire Indian T20 league season getting a truck-load of runs and still go at a 150 strike rate."

Manjrekar concluded by stating that it is just a question of the duo adjusting to India's recently acquired batting approach. The former Indian batter observed:

"So it's about KL Rahul just playing in that fashion which he has the ability to do. But yes, this is going to be really interesting, it's a great topic to discuss, so it's about them aligning themselves with this new thinking that we have with the new coach with this Indian team."

Rahul has not played a T20I game since November last year. The Lucknow Super Giants skipper was often criticized for his slightly conservative batting approach during IPL 2022 and will have to shed his inhibitions while playing at the top of the order for the Men in Blue.