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Home » Cricket Home » News » India vs England: Kevin Pietersen Wants Ben Stokes to Bat Higher up the Order

India vs England: Kevin Pietersen Wants Ben Stokes to Bat Higher up the Order

Former England skipper has batted for Ben Stokes' promotion up the order, and has said that the latter batting so low is a waste in T20Is. England is in need of a finisher, and Stokes could fit the role perfect. Apart from the fourth T20I, the left-hander failed to really make a mark with the bat.

India vs England: Kevin Pietersen Wants Ben Stokes to Bat Higher up the Order

Former England skipper has batted for Ben Stokes’ promotion up the order, and has said that the latter batting so low is a waste in T20Is. England is in need of a finisher, and Stokes could fit the role perfect. Apart from the fourth T20I, the left-hander failed to really make a mark with the bat.

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“Ben Stokes is completely wasted at 6 as a batter and bowling part-time. Bairstow in T20’s is an opener. If he doesn’t open, Stokes bats 4,” Pietersen wrote on Twitter.

In fact, former England batsman Rob Key has echoed the same sentiment. According to him, Stokes is a star performer and needs to be promoted up the order. ‘They need to get more from Stokes. It’s not like he can’t do it, he was the MVP at the Indian Premier League a few years ago. He was the best player during that tournament. He can play T20 cricket. But somehow they need to get him more involved. It’s very hard for Stokes,” Rob Key said on Sky Sports.

‘The people that bat six like Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell can slog yorkers out of the ground. I’m not sure Stokes, as good as he is, can do exactly that. But he can bat early on when the field is up in the powerplay and then destroy sides. He doesn’t strike me as someone happy to come in with five overs to go at No 6,” he added.

Meanwhile, after leading India to a 3-2 series win over England scoring an unbeaten 80 (52) in the final T20I in Ahmedabad, India captain Virat Kohli expressed his desire to open the batting more often in the lead up to the ICC T20 World Cup, including in the IPL.

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Opening the batting with Rohit Sharma for the first time, Kohli put on a 94-run stand with the vice-captain in just 9 overs. Kohli batted through to help India post 224 for 2, which they defended. Kohli was also player of the series.

“Yes, I’m going to open in the IPL as well. Have batted in different positions in the past but we do have a solid middle-order now – it’s about the two best players getting maximum no of balls in T20 cricket. I’d like to partner Rohit at the top and the other guys feel confident when one of us are in. I’d like that to continue,” he said at the post-match presentation.

Team Rankings

RankTeamPointsRating
1 New Zealand 3198 118
2 Australia 3028 116
3 India 3085 114
4 England 4326 106
5 South Africa 2499 96
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RankTeamPointsRating
1 England 5405 123
2 India 6102 117
3 New Zealand 3716 116
4 Australia 4344 111
5 South Africa 3345 108
FULL Ranking
RankTeamPointsRating
1 England 6877 275
2 Australia 6800 272
3 India 10186 268
4 Pakistan 7516 259
5 South Africa 5047 252
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