IND vs SA: Ganguly opens up on Kohli’s batting position for T20 World Cup final

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly opened up on Virat Kohli’s ongoing struggles in the T20 World Cup 2024 as the Rohit Sharma-led unit is set to take on South Africa in the final at the Kensington Oval, Barbados, on Sunday.

Kohli, 35, scored only nine runs in the semi-final against England and was bowled by Reece Topley. That was the fifth time in the T20 World Cup that he failed to score double digits.

Kohli, who was the top-scorer of the 2016 and 2022 T20 World Cups, has become the top of discussion as his form is a concern for India as well. With just one match standing in India and their first ICC trophy since 2013, much is expected from the 35-year-old to deliver in the final.

Many cricket experts advised Kohli to bat at number three, where he has batted for India for a long time, but Ganguly believes that he should continue to open the innings despite many failures.

"Virat should open. He just had a World Cup of 700 runs seven months ago. He is human. Sometimes he will also fail, and you have to accept it. People like Kohli, Tendulkar, Dravid, they are institutions for Indian cricket. Three-four matches don't make them weaker players. Don't rule him out in the final tomorrow," Ganguly said on Friday.

Further, Ganguly also backed Shivam Dube, who is not having the best tournament, to continue playing as he can hit big sixes to spinners.

"Virat is a once-in-a-generation batsman. Dube is in the team because he hits big sixes to spin. He has a role to hit spinners, and he has done very well," the former India captain added.

Remember, South Africa made it to their first-ever T20 World Cup final by beating Afghanistan in a one-sided contest in Trinidad and Tobago.

Meanwhile, in the second semi-final, Rohit Sharma and Co took their revenge for T20 World Cup 2022 and beat England by 68 runs in Guyana.

The iconic Kensington Oval in Barbados will host the final on June 29.

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