'He holds key for India's batting': Ajit Agarkar says 'Virat Kohli has to score runs' in WTC final for India to compete
"Virat Kohli will have to get runs if India has to compete in this Test match, there are no two ways about it," Agarkar said during a discussion on Star Sports' Game Plan.
It has been over 1 year and 6 months since Virat Kohli scored his last Test century. Kohli's ton against Bangladesh in November 2019 Day/Night Test match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata was his last international hundred. Since then, the India captain has played 7 Tests but is yet to register another century. Ahead of the World Test Championship final against New Zealand, former India pacer Ajit Agarkar says that Kohli has to score in the WTC final as he holds the key for India's batting unit.
"Virat Kohli will have to get runs if India has to compete in this Test match, there are no two ways about it," Agarkar said during a discussion on Star Sports' Game Plan.
India led by Kohli will tee off against Kane Williamson's New Zealand in the WTC final in Southampton, starting from June 18th. The match is expected to be a test for the Indian team, who struggled against the Kiwis last year, losing both their away Tests against New Zealand.
With England pitches expected to favour Kiwi pacers, India are expected to face a tough challenge in the highly-anticipated clash. Also, New Zealand are playing two-match Test series against England before the WTC final, while India will be entering the contest after a long break, with IPL 2021 getting suspended midway.
"It is almost a repeat of that series that he went to England and put his demons away from the previous tour because Southee has bowled well against him. There are other guys who are going to swing the ball, so it is going to be a big challenge but he rose to that challenge against England the last time he toured there. So, I expect him to do that," Agarkar said.
"Knowing Virat Kohli, I don't think he would be worried about his own performance at this point in time. He would be only thinking about how he can contribute so that India goes on to win this Test match," the former India speedster added.
"He will go back to his drawing board and see what kind of adjustment he had made after the 2014 series and he came back brilliantly. There was a question mark over his technique and how he would play against Jimmy Anderson but he came back strongly. He definitely holds the key as far as India's batting is concerned," he signed off.
