cricket

Updated: Feb 23, 2019 10:45 IST

India captain Virat Kohli will look to improve his sub-par batting record in the upcoming T20I series against Australia. India are scheduled to play two T20Is in Vishakhapatnam and Bengaluru on February 24 and 27 respectively.

While Kohli is widely regarded as the best batsman in the world, his batting record in the shortest format states otherwise. Before the added burden of captaincy, Kohli enjoyed a rich vein of form in T20Is but it has changed drastically since him being named the skipper in all three formats.

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So far, Kohli has led India in 20 T20Is and averages 34.00 with 510 runs, which is 23.13 lesser than his average without captaincy. Although his strike-rate has changed for the better, Kohli’s balls/boundary and innings/50 rates haven’t improved.

Out of the 20 matches in which Kohli has led the side in T20Is, India have played eight matches at home. Stats reveal that his average as captain in away matches is better than home games and this might play on his mind in the forthcoming series.

Moreover, Kohli stands at a lowly sixth in the list of list of best average by captains with 500+ runs in the shortest format. Interestingly, Rohit Sharma — who takes the role of captain in Kohli’s absence — tops this particular list.

Kohli will be eager to get back on the field after being rested for the final two ODIs and T20I series against New Zealand. The India skipper will be hopeful of getting some runs under his belt and fire the team to victory over Australia.