Virat Kohli considers Marcus Stoinis as potential threat: The Indian captain was asked to name only one particular Australian cricketer.
India and Australia are on the verge of playing another round of intriguing cricket this year. The two-match T20I and the five-match ODI series will present a chance for both the team to take another look of their optimal combination ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
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While it will be India’s last international assignment before the World Cup, they would be realizing that they won’t have another chance post this series. On the other hand, Australia will still have one more ODI series against Pakistan.
Addressing the media during the pre-series press conference, India captain Virat Kohli was asked about singling out on one Australia player who is a potential threat for the Indian team.
ALSO READ: Matthew Hayden rates Marcus Stoinis above Hardik Pandya.
Kohli asked to name one player
The 30-year old cricketer considered the whole Australia team to be dangerous but settled on one name in all-rounder Marcus Stoinis as someone who can create more impact than the others. Kohli highlighted Stoinis’ recent form in the Big Bash League as the reason behind the same.
“If I had to single out one player that can make more impact, that would be Stoinis. He has come around really well during the BBL and he’s making stand out performances. You can see he’s grown in confidence and he’s definitely going to be a very important player for them.
“A few of the guys have done really well in the BBL. But from the last time that we played, the games were close contests, both of them. One was washed out, but the other two were really exciting games. We obviously expect a stiff competition overall from the Australian team,” Kohli was quoted as saying.
ALSO READ: Marcus Stoinis opens up on playing alongside Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in IPL 2019.
Stoinis ended the BBL has its third-highest run-scorer scoring 533 runs in 13 matches at an average of 53.30 and a strike rate of 130.63. With the ball in hand, he dismissed 14 batsmen at an average of 16.14, an economy rate of 8.37 and a strike rate of 11.5.
Having opened the batting for Melbourne Stars, Stoinis discovered an exciting facet in his game, something which could force Virat Kohli to include him into the playing XI at Royals Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2019. Having played for Kings XI Punjab since 2016, Stoinis was swapped for Mandeep Singh ahead of this year’s auction.
