T20 World Cup 2022: “We can’t depend on Virat Kohli” – Former cricketer Reetinder Singh Sodhi wants KL Rahul to step up for India

Former Indian cricketer Reetinder Singh Sodhi has said that the Men in Blue cannot depend entirely on Virat Kohli to win all the matches throughout the T20 World Cup 2022. He feels it’s time for KL Rahul to step up for the team alongside Indian captain Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav.

Rahul (4) and Rohit (4) failed miserably against arch-rivals Pakistan in Melbourne on Sunday, October 23. The duo departed for identical scores of four runs. Meanwhile, the in-form batter Suryakumar Yadav also departed for 15 off 10 balls.

Chasing 160, Kohli stepped in to save India from the jaws of defeat. He scored an unbeaten 82 off 53 balls, while Hardik Pandya contributed 40 runs as the Men in Blue beat Pakistan by four wickets in a last-ball thriller.

Speaking to India News, Sodhi said:

“It’s time for KL Rahul to fire because we can’t depend on Virat Kohli for all matches, which we have done for the last 10-12 years. End of the day, it’s a team game.

"We hope that in upcoming matches Team India will play as a collective unit – Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav – all will score runs and we’ll easily reach the semifinals and final.”

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“He was looking tense” – Saba Karim on KL Rahul’s failure against Pakistan in T20 World Cup

Saba Karim pointed out that Rahul looked afraid of Pakistan bowlers before he played the ball onto the stumps off Naseem Shah. The former Indian selector felt that the past failure against Shaheen Afridi haunted the opening batter.

Karim said:

“KL Rahul was batting according to his reputation. Shaheen Shah Afridi also has a big reputation and he lost his wicket to him in the last T20 World Cup. Thus, he was looking tense. He was quite tentative in his footwork. His first run was also an inside edge.”

Karim also questioned Rohit Sharma’s batting approach against Pakistan's quick bowlers. He added:

“Rohit Sharma also played with a similar approach while facing Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf. You don’t need to play as per reputation.”

The openers are expected to live up to their potential in their next T20 World Cup clash against the Netherlands in Sydney on Thursday, October 27.