Virat Kohli backs Ashwin's inclusion in India's T20 WC squad, 'Bowling with courage'

After the completion of the IPL 2021, fans are eagerly waiting for the blockbuster encounters in the upcoming T20 World Cup. Team India's skipper Virat Kohli on Saturday interacted with the media in a pre-tournament press conference and expressed the idea behind the inclusion of off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the T20 World Cup squad. Ravichandran Ashwin's inclusion in the T20 World Cup squad surprised everyone as the off-spinner was out of India's limited-overs squad for quite a while. 

On being asked about Ashwin's inclusion, Virat Kohli said,

"Yes, definitely. The one thing Ashwin has improved on is his bowling with courage. You have seen in the IPL over the last two years that he has bowled the difficult overs against the biggest hitters. He has not been shy to put the ball in the right areas, Ashwin has believed in his skillset. And we felt the way he was bowling with variations, he is a guy who has played a lot of international cricket."

"So, hence Ashwin has been rewarded for reviving his white-ball skills altogether. He was a regular feature for us back in the day but he fell off, finger spinners with accuracy have come back into the game. So we also need to evolve as a team," Kohli added.

Virat Kohli opens up on Yuzvendra Chahal's exclusion from T20 World Cup squad

One of the most surprising decisions by the BCCI was to leave out leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal from Team India's T20 World Cup squad. Rahul Chahar was preferred by the selectors insted of Yuzvendra Chahal. However, Chahal showcased some brilliant bowling performance in the UAE leg of IPL, fuelling the debate on his exclusion. 

Talking about the exclusion of Yuzvendra Chahal from the squad, Kohli said,

"It was a challenging call but we decided to back Rahul Chahar for a reason. He has bowled amazingly well over the last couple of years in the IPL. A guy who bowls with pace, he did really well in Sri Lanka and against England at home as well, he was someone who bowled those difficult overs."

"We believe going on in this tournament, the wickets are going to get slower and slower, so guys who bowl with pace will be able to trouble the batters as compared to those who give it air. Rahul definitely has those strengths naturally as a leg-spinner.

He is someone who always attacks the wickets, that is the factor that tilted the thing in favour of him. Picking a World Cup team is always tricky and you cannot always have everyone in that squad," he added.

It is pertinent to mention here that Virat Kohli had announced that he will step down as Team India's T20 captain after the World Cup in UAE. 

(Image: PTI)