Proud to win without Rohit, Bumrah: Virat Kohli after T20I series win

Absence of Rohit Sharma was the talking point before India began their tour to Australia, and on top of that they decided to rest Jasprit Bumrah in the first T20Is seemingly ceding the advantage to Australia. However, despite playing without these stalwarts India managed to seal the T20I series with a match to go, something that pleased Virat Kohli a lot.

“Yeah meant a great deal. We’ve played as a team in T20 cricket. The fact that we don’t have Rohit and Bumrah, our established white ball players, in and still doing well makes me happy and I am very proud of this team,” Kohli said after the win.

Kohli also praised Hardik Pandya who once again proved his ability with the bat, finishing the match from a tricky situation.

“The reason for him (Hardik) coming into the team in 2016 was pure ability. He has raw talent. And now he realises that this is his time, the next 4-5 years, to be that bankable player that can win you games from anywhere. His plans are right and I’m glad to see that,” Kohli said.

“He now realises that this is the time to establish in that (finishing) role and play match-winning knocks for us. He plays with all his heart and he certainly got that competitive nature about him and also has the skill to execute that at the highest level,” he added.