Former Australian captain Aaron Finch on Wednesday slammed critics for questioning India batter Virat Kohli's place in Men in Blue's T20I set-up, calling the chatter around his spot "the biggest rubbish he has ever heard".
As the ICC T20 World Cup, set to take place on June 1 in the West Indies/USA draws closer and the fever of the Indian Premier League (IPL) gets stronger, the conversations around Kohli’s approach in T20 cricket have produced mixed debates.
While many fans/experts have expressed support for Kohli because of his stature, impressive T20I resume and experience, some of them have questioned if his style, which leans slightly towards a more conservative territory, is fit for modern, hard-hitting T20 cricket in which batters often launch big sixes from ball one.
‘He’s the greatest white-ball player I’ve seen’
Speaking on ESPN's programme, Finch said, "I cannot understand that whenever an ICC event, irrespective of the format, is coming, every time people talk about Virat Kohli and whether he is under pressure for his spot.
“This is the biggest piece of rubbish I have ever heard. He is the greatest white ball player I have ever seen.
"It does not matter if he strikes at 140 and other guys strike at 160, when you pick up a team, you pick up a guy who gets the job done day in and day out for his team during big games. It is ludicrous that we keep having this conversation," he added.
During his side's previous IPL game against Punjab Kings (PBKS), Kohli shut down critics with a majestic 77 in 49 balls, with 11 fours and two sixes.
Scoring at a strike rate of over 157, Kohli was going hard from ball one, smashing Sam Curran for four boundaries in the first over itself during a run chase of 177.
Another notable highlight of his knock was him taking on bowlers really well during middle overs and even choosing the aerial route.
After his match-winning knock, Kohli acknowledged that amid all the chatter around his spot, his name is largely being used to promote the shortest format of the game in the USA ahead of T20 World Cup through advertisements, and he has "still got it" in T20 cricket.
He also talked about though he tries to go hard from the beginning, the fall of wickets makes him play as per situation.
"I know my name is often used to just promote the T20 game across the world when it comes to T20 cricket these days but still got it I guess," said Kohli during the post-match presentation.
