Many consider Kohli’s strike rate of 147.59 not impressive enough. However, when questioned about the former RCB skipper’s scoring rate, Indian captain Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar both laughed off the criticism.
“He’s been in great form in the IPL, no concerns there at all,” Agarkar said stressing the need for experience in a World Cup campaign.
“You’ve got to prepare knowing there’s a gap (between the IPL and a World Cup). That’s where experience does matter a lot.”
“There’s no point over-thinking it.”
“If the tournament turns out to be like how the IPL is, where (a score of) 220 plays (against) 220, I think we’ve still got enough in the team, the balance, all the power, then you can match that,” he added.
Rohit also said the team management was crystal clear about picking as many as four spinners for the T20 World Cup in the Americas, asserting that IPL had very little role to play in deciding the final 15.
India have picked four spinners and three pacers in the squad, a move that has attracted diverse views. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal are the two wrist spinners while Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are the all-rounders who bowl left-arm spin.
“I don’t want to go into details on this. I definitely wanted four spinners. We have played a lot of cricket there (West Indies), we know how the conditions are like,” Rohit said in a press conference to address queries on the squad selection.