Kohli explains how MS Dhoni’s absence: The Indian captain was vocal about the veteran cricketer’s absence during India’s tour of West Indies.
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India captain Virat Kohli believes that T20 cricket has it in it to grow its roots in American culture. Speaking on the eve of first T20I of India’s tour of West Indies, Kohli expressed his optimism regarding more cricket finding a place in this new territory.
“I think T20 cricket is something that can be understood and accepted in the American culture because of the length of the game and it’s quite entertaining as well. So, I think for the sport to become global in many ways, a lot of interest here will go a long way in achieving that for the sport.
“Hopefully in years to come, we’ll have more tournaments and more series here where people just come in and start understanding the sport and just having fun like they do in any other sporting event here,” Kohli was quoted as saying.
Kohli explains how MS Dhoni’s absence is Rishabh Pant’s “perfect opportunity”
With former India captain and current wicket-keeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni not in the squad, India will be relying on rookie wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant to perform the duties behind and in front of the stumps. Being asked about Dhoni’s absence, Kohli considered it to be a “perfect opportunity” for the 21-year old southpaw to unleash his potential.
“It’s a great opportunity for someone like Rishabh Pant to really play a lot of international cricket, show his credentials, really unleash his potential at this stage. We know how much ability he has and we all want him to become a consistent performer for the Indian cricket team.
“MS’ [Dhoni] experience is always going to be a very crucial factor but having said that some of these younger guys have a great opportunity ahead of them and they should just look forward to it,” Kohli added.
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