'Had to play this way, because aim is World Cup,': Virat Kohli on his new T20I batting approach

Kohli after reaching his 100 [PC: Twitter]

Former Indian skipper Virat Kohli unleashed himself last evening in the Asia Cup 2022 tie against Afghanistan. Kohli, to everyone's surprise, and jubilance, registered his 71st international and first T20I ton, scoring an unbeaten 122 in India's 101-run win.

Kohli, during his knock, also became the second player to cross the 3,500-run mark in T20Is, after Sharma. 

In a freewheeling conversation with Rohit Sharma, who rested himself from the dead rubber, Kohli talked about his and Team India's goal ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022.

"It was a special day for us as a team. We talked after the last game about the attitude we will have for this one, because that will matter the most for us. This tournament was needed for us. 

We got the exposure to the knockout stages and pressure. Everyone knows what our goal is. It is the World Cup in Australia. We are improving for that and we will learn from our experience. Some of the matches for us weren't good,"

The 33-year-old also opened up about his new-found batting approach in T20 cricket, as witnessed in the knock against Afghanistan, which included 12 fours and six sixes.

"I had to play in this way because our aim is the World Cup. So if I play well, then I can contribute more to the team. So these were the plans. When I talked to Rahul Dravid, he told me about how I can improve while batting first, improve my strike-rate during the middle phases.

Kohli will likely be seen playing Australia at home in a 3-T20I series.

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