Captains should have option of reviewing wide ball or waist-high full-toss: Virat Kohli

New Delhi, October 14

India captain Virat Kohli on Wednesday said he wouldn't mind having an option of reviewing contentious wide deliveries and waist-high full tosses in T20 cricket, more so in high-profile tournaments like the Indian Premier League.

Hosting a star-studded 'Puma India Instagram live chat show', Kohli, who leads Royal Challengers Bangalore in the lucrative league, said they have "discussed it internally" as "these things can make a massive difference".

"I am going to speak as a captain. As a captain, I would like to have the ability to review a wide, which could be a wrong call, or a waist-high full-toss, which could be a wrong call," Kohli said during an interaction with KL Rahul, his first guest of the evening.

"We have seen this historically how big these things can be in such a high-profile tournament like IPL and in general T20 cricket.

"It is a fast-paced game and you can miss a small margin and we have all seen this is a big factor. If you lose the game by a run and you are not able to review that wide, it could make a massive difference in someone's campaign," Kohli added.

Rahul seconded Kolhi. "If that rule comes in, it is very good. You can give a team two reviews and say you can use it for whatever."         

Rahul, who is captaining Kings XI Punjab in the ongoing league, feels that a team can be given two reviews instead of one that is available currently.

Asked about changes he would like to bring in the tournament given a chance, Rahul said, "If someone hits a six over 100 metres, it should be given more runs. I will ask my bowlers about this."

The 13th edition of IPL is being hosted in the UAE after the organisers could not hold it in India due to a surge in COVID-19 case load. This is the first competitive tournament the Indian cricketers are engaged in following the coronavirus-forced hiatus.

"I was nervous coming into the tournament. I was scared from injury point of view, that fear was always there," said Rahul.

"There was self-doubt, the other part is skill, after having not played for such a long period of time. I was a little nervous but I knew I would enjoy a lot. Once the tournament started, you started getting into the groove... the fear was starting to go away," said Rahul.

Speaking about captaining a side, which he is doing for the first time in the IPL, Rahul said he was using the learning from the likes of Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the tournament.

"Since it's my first time doing this, whatever I have played and learnt from you, Mahi bhai, I have tried to pretty much do the same thing.

"I tried to stay balanced in victory and loss, it's important to ensure that everyone is enjoying ... it's been a good learning for me, leadership helps to grow individual faster."  

On locking horns against national teammates in franchise-based tournaments like the IPL, Rahul said, "I have been playing IPL for 4-5 years. I don't think it's (captaincy) a massive shift, it's just about understanding each other. We play against each other so often, we know our strengths and weaknesses." PTI

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