Virat Kohli was left baffled by a couple of questions at the post-match press conference after India’s 10-wicket loss to Pakistan in their T20 World Cup Super 12 opener in Dubai on Sunday. The India captain, who had played down concerns around team combination, laughed off a question that he labeled as “brave” as a journalist asked if India made a mistake by playing Rohit Sharma ahead of Ishan Kishan for Sunday’s encounter.
Kohli turned up for the post-match routine right after the hammering that India received at the hands of a spirited Pakistan side in Dubai. Chasing 152, Pakistan got to the target in just 17.5 overs and with 10 wickets to spare and Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan hit unbeaten fifties to help the former champions beat India for the first time in a World Cup match after 12 attempts.
Rohit Sharma got out for a duck after failing to negotiate with a Shaheen Afridi yorker. The left-arm pacer got KL Rahul cheaply too as India were reduced to 31/3 in the powerplay. Virat Kohli steadied the innings with a fifty but India kept losing regular wickets and managed just 151/7 in their quota of 20 overs.
Question: Regarding the selection of the team, many people were talking. Ishan Kishan played pretty well in the warm-up match. Do you think that it’s a mistake if Ishan Kishan, could play and he could do better than Rohit Sharma?
Virat Kohli: “That’s a very brave question. What do you think, sir? I played the team that I thought was the best. What is your opinion?”
“Will you drop Rohit Sharma from T20 international? Will you drop Rohit Sharma? Do you know what he did in the last game we played? Unbelievable (laughs). Sir, if you want controversy, please tell me before so I can answer accordingly,” he added.
