Suresh Raina: Very important for Kohli to make everyone believe we can do it

Former batsman Suresh Raina urges India to lift coveted trophy for outgoing Twenty20 skipper

Former India cricketer Suresh Raina says Virat Kohli deserves to draw the curtains on his T20 captaincy stint by winning the shortest format’s World Cup in the UAE and Oman. Kohli will step down from T20 captaincy after the World Cup and Raina said the talismanic batter deserves a befitting farewell from his teammates.

“For India, the message at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is simple—do it for Virat Kohli. “It will probably be his last time at this tournament as captain, so it’s very important for him to make everyone believe we can do it and for us to get behind him,” Raina wrote in a column for ICC.

“We have the players, we have the momentum. We just need to go out there and execute now.” Raina feels the Indian players featuring in the IPL in the UAE could help them during the World Cup. “All of our players have just played the Indian Premier League in the UAE and they have played themselves into top form with eight or nine games in this environment.

“This gives India an edge on all other teams and makes them one of the big favourites to win the T20 World Cup in my opinion,” he said. “The conditions in UAE are very similar to what we play in India and also in Pakistan. It’s a good opportunity for the Asian teams to come and play their natural game.”

Raina believes the key to India’s success in the tournament lies in the performance of top three batters. “Rohit Sharma is a gun player—he has a brilliant record at ICC events in the past and had a great IPL. We need Rohit, KL Rahul and Virat to bat through to 15 overs and lay the platform. They can set the momentum for the India team by doing this,” he said.

Also Read: T20 World Cup: Warm-up matches to test Hardik Pandya’s fitness, R Ashwin’s form

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