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India vs England: Virat Kohli has earned the right to never be written off, says Ben Stokes
Virat Kohli
- Virat Kohli has scored 3 fifties in 5 games this World Cup
- He is the leading run-scorer with 246 runs
- Kohli has scored over 700 runs in T20Is this year
Ben Stokes has heaped praise on Virat Kohli for his achievement across the formats and also said that the former Indian captain has "earned the right to never be written off."
Ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final between India and England, Stokes said that he never understood why people wrote off Kohli during his lean patch. The English all-rounder also admitted that his side never takes Kohli lightly on any given day.
"Look at that form. How unbelievable it is. As you know, he had a not-so-loud couple of months and, for some reason, players like that will get written off. I've got no idea why. I think he's earned the right to never be written off. You don't produce the number and produce the innings that he does over all three formats," Stokes told reporters ahead of the second semi-final in Adelaide.
Kohli's century drought lasted for three years before he finally reached a three-digit score during the Asia Cup earlier this year in the UAE. From there, Kohli has not looked back. After scoring an unbeaten 122 against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup, Kohli has recorded four half0centuries in the next 10 innings; that includes three in the ongoing T20 World Cup.
With 246 runs in five games, Kohli is the leading run-scorer in the T20 World Cup 2022 and with two more possible games, the top-order batsman has a chance to extend his lead.
Ahead of the Asia Cup, Kohli took a month's break. According to Stokes, that certainly helped the talented batsman to rejuvenate and find form. In 2022, Kohli has scored over 700 runs and is currently in fourth place in the list of most runs in T20Is.
"We as players and those who have played against him a lot, you never take anything he's done in the game before into the game he's got there. So just lay off a bit maybe," added Stokes.
India and England will face off in the second semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022 on Thursday (Nov. 10) at Adelaide Oval. The first semi-final is on Wednesday and is between New Zealand and Pakistan at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
T20 World Cup: We must not allow Surya to get on a rampage, says Ben Stokes
Meanwhile, Stokes also stated that World No. 1 T20I batsman Suryakumar Yadav could be a major threat to England in the semi-final.
Suryakumar has been in excellent form in the T20 World Cup, registering three half-centuries at a strike-rate of over 190. He is the only batsman to have accumulated 1,000 or more runs in the shortest format this year on the international platform. Surya, who comes in at No. 4, has so far scored 1,026 runs in 28 games at an average of 44.60 and strike-rate of 186.54. Earlier this year, Surya scored his maiden ton for India that came in a T20I against England in Nottingham.
"Suryakumar (Yadav) is fantastic; he plays some shots that leave you scratching your head. He is in great form, and I guess we should tie him down and not allow him to get on a rampage," Stokes added further.
