Virat Kohli’s witty response to journalist when asked about his T20I opening troubles

What’s the story?

Following India’s 75-run victory over England in the third T20I at Bengaluru, which helped them seal the series 2-1, captain Virat Kohli kept his wits as he showcased his composure by shutting down a journalist.

In response to a journalist who asked about his failure as an opener, he said: “I am more happy about that (series) and not worried about my opening slot. If I had made 70 runs in two matches, would you have asked me this question? No, right? So just enjoy the series. It is a nice win for us.”

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In case you didn’t know...

After scoring his career-best Test score in the Test series, a century and fifty in three ODIs, Kohli had a mediocre run in the T20Is. He scored just 52 runs as an opener in the three matches and never scored more than 29 despite having a career T20I average in excess of 50.

The heart of the matter

In response to the journalist, who asked about his failure as an opening batsman, the 28-year-old was quick to point out that when he scored four hundreds as an opener in IPL 2016 for Royal Challengers Bangalore, there were no questions but a failure in this series has suddenly brought that on.

He also added that there were many at the time who were calling him a revelation after his record-breaking exploits as an opener in the IPL but a couple of low scores has suddenly brought criticism. He added that there are 10 other players in the team and the focus should be on them as well, before saying, “If I do everything so what will the others do.”

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What’s next?

After winning his first ODI and T20I series as full-time limited-overs captain, Kohli’s focus will now shift back to Tests as India play five Tests before the ICC Champions Trophy in June. After the IPL Auction 2017 that will take place on February 4, India take on Bangladesh in a one-off Test beginning on February 9 at Hyderabad, before taking on Australia in a four-Test series.

Sportskeeda’s Take

With an average of over 50 in all three forms, including T20Is, where an average in the 30s is considered as impressive, it certainly isn’t the right time to question the way Virat Kohli approaches the game. With the fact that he already mentioned that he is only opening in T20Is to provide the side more balance and will relinquish the responsibility as soon as Rohit Sharma is fit, the question makes even less sense.