India vs England T20 World Cup: 'King is back but I just need Virat Kohli to have a day off,' says Kevin Pietersen

With hours to go for India vs England T20 World Cup semifinal clash in Adelaide, former England captain Kevin Pietersen acknowledged that Indian batting star and friend Virat Kohli is back in full flow and hoped that he will have a hope day against his former national team on Thursday.

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So far Kohli has scored 246 runs in five games while scoring at an average of 123. His top show began with an unforgettable 82-run knock against Pakistan and was followed by two further half-centuries.

Former England captain said he always back Kohli through his tough time and as a close friend he couldn’t be more happy for him but hoped the Indian star is not in his top form on Thursday.

“I backed Kohli throughout the little loss of form that he had, and he’s had a lot to deal with. He is an entertainer, he needs crowds, he needs that buzz, he needs that excitement. He didn’t have that for a few years, and he lost his way. But the crowds are in, it’s a T20 World Cup in Australia – one of the greatest places to play T20 cricket – and the King is back. As a close friend, I’m very happy for him, but I just need Virat to have a day off,” Pietersen wrote in his blog for Betway.

Pietersen, who was born in South Africa but played 277 international games for England, said Kohli’s return to form has only rubbed on the form of other teammates, including Suryakumar Yadav, who is the team’s second top-scorer with 225 runs.

“It’s just so good to see the greatest current player back in the runs, not only from India’s perspective, but for the world of cricket. For India, he’s such a major component for them to start seeing some consistency. When Virat plays well, the other players start to perform around him. You saw that with Suryakumar Yadav and the innings he played against Zimbabwe; it was just spectacular. When your talisman is back, it helps massively,” added Pietersen.

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