Getting Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli out early would cost Team India 60-70 runs in a T20I, feels Asghar Afghan – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

The Indian team is excessively dependent on star batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and without them, the side would be in serious trouble, feels former Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan.

Skipper Rohit and his predecessor in the role Kohli are two of the biggest names in the current Indian team and also count among the finest batters of the modern era.

Rohit and Kohli remain the biggest threats to bowling attacks across the globe and with both regaining their form in the recently-concluded Asia Cup, are the batters to watch out for both in the upcoming T20I series’ against Australia and South Africa as well as at home.

However, their collective failure at the top of the order has also been a feature of many an Indian defeat, especially in big-ticket matches such as the 2017 Champions Trophy final, the 2019 ODI World Cup semi-final among others.

And Afghan, for one, felt Team India would be short by at least “60-70 runs” in a T20I if not for the illustrious pair.

“Whenever we played against India, our plan used to be around Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. We used to say ‘get them out, half of Indian team is finished’. The whole world plans against these two big players like this only. They can win matches single-handedly,” Afghan told Hindustan Times.

“We used to believe that if we get both of them out early then about 100-120 runs would be less from India’s total in an ODI and about 60-70 runs in a T20I,” added Afghan, who felt Ravindra Jadeja’s injury-forced exit midway during the Asia Cup was one of the reasons behind India’s failure to reach the final.

Kohli was back in his element during the Asia Cup, where he finished the second-highest run-scorer with 276 runs in five outings at an average of 92, collecting two fifties and his maiden T20I hundred along the way. Rohit, on the other hand, regained his form during the Super 4 clash against Sri Lanka, where he struck a lively 41-ball 72, before being rested for India’s final game of the tournament against Afghanistan.

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