Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina

Picture Credit: BCCI

Former India batter Suresh Raina wants Team India to win the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 for their captain Virat Kohli. Notably, Kohli has already announced that this will be his last assignment as the skipper of the shortest format and Raina wants the Men in Blue to bid Kohli the captain a farewell on a winning note.

The former India batter stated that India and Kohli should head into the World Cup believing that they can do special things in the UAE. While India will begin their T20 World Cup warm-up fixtures from today, their Super 12 campaign will begin against arch-rivals Pakistan at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

We have the players, we have the momentum - we just need to go out there and execute now: Raina

"For India, the message at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup is simple - do it for Virat Kohli," Raina wrote in a column for the International Cricket Council.

"It will probably be his last time at this tournament as captain, so it's very important for him to make everyone believe we can do it and for us to get behind him," he added.

"India fans can't wait for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 to start for this reason. We have the players, we have the momentum - we just need to go out there and execute now," he wrote.

Need Rohit, KL Rahul and Virat to bat through to 15 overs: Raina

The Chennai Super Kings star who was part of India's squad in the 2016 T20 World Cup squad said that India's chances will depend on how well the top 3 of India's batting order- Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Kohli can perform in what are going to be sporting wickets in the UAE.

"For me, the key to success for India's batting lies in the top three. Rohit Sharma is a gun player - he has a brilliant record at ICC events in the past and had a great IPL," Raina wrote.

"We need Rohit, KL Rahul and Virat to bat through to 15 overs and lay the platform. They can set the momentum for the India team by doing this," he added.

Raina, who was part of the CSK's IPL winning campaign in 2021, picked Varun Chakravarthy as the trump card in these conditions in the Indian bowling attack. The mystery spinner was in good form in IPL 2021 and picked up 18 wickets in 17 matches this season at a brilliant economy of 6.58.