Former Indian bowler Ashish Nehra today has spoken about how Royal Challengers Bangalore should approach the play-off and the likely changes in the batting order he would like to see in the remaining games. The former India international came out and said that he believes RCB skipper Virat Kohli should open the inning for better stability for RCB in the games going forward.
Virat Kohli as Opener for RCB
India TV
According to Nehra, Kohli should promote himself to the opening position if the team management continues with their exclusion of Australian white-ball skipper Aaron Finch. Speaking after the game between RCB and DC which saw DC win and secure the second spot in the table. Nehra was of the opinion that Virat Kohli should come up as an opener and take the responsibility of leading the batting in the games going ahead. Virat Kohli has opened several times for RCB and in 2016 he scored 4 centuries and over 900 runs opening the batting for RCB. IF Kohli opens the batting in the remaining games, the middle order could look weak with just AB De Villiers to shore the team and bail them out of trouble.
Moeen Ali in middle order
One of the suggestions given by the experts was to include Moeen Ali in the playing eleven which will not only strengthen the middle order but also Moeen Ali can be a useful asset with his penetrative off-spin bowling. This year Ali has seen very little playing time, in such a star-studded team. Moeen Ali who in the previous editions was one of the Bangalore franchise’s main weapons has found game time hard to come by. If Kohli promotes himself to open the innings this could mean a possible inclusion for Moeen Ali to lend greater stability to the team in quest of their maiden IPL title.