Regarding Virat Kohli‘s inclusion in the Indian team for the T20 World Cup this year, Sunil Gavaskar remains unwavering. It has been predicted by the former cricket player turned commentator that the former captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Virat Kohli will have a great season in the next Indian Premier League (IPL 2024).
For the first time since the 2022 T20 World Cup, Kohli and Rohit Sharma were called up to the Indian T20I team for the series against Afghanistan last month. After choosing not to play in the first game of the series for personal reasons, Virat Kohli scored 29 runs in the second game and was removed for a duck in the third, while Rohit made a century in the most recent T20I.
In 14 innings for RCB in the 2023 Indian Premier League, Kohli scored 639 runs, including two hundreds, at an outstanding average of 53.25 and a blazing strike rate of 139.82. With 730 runs, Faf du Plessis was the franchise’s top run scorer, surpassing him by a little margin.
Virat Kohli’s speed is more than some of the youngsters- Sunil Gavaskar
Given that the Men in Blue don’t have any T20I matches left before the international tournament, Gavaskar was questioned about whether Virat Kohli will be trying to cement his claim for a spot in India’s T20 World Cup with his successes in the IPL 2024.
In response, the former India opener said:
“Absolutely, because questions are being asked whether a young team should be taken as we couldn’t win the ICC 50-over World Cup with this team. So for T20, which is called a young man’s game, do we need young players,?”
Additionally, Sunil Gavaskar stated that he should have a successful season because he scores a lot of runs both at the Bangalore stadium and the Mumbai stadium.
“If you check fitness and speed, Virat Kohli’s speed is more than some of the youngsters. If he has a good season, and why shouldn’t he have a good season because he scores a lot of runs at the Bangalore ground and he has scored a lot of runs on the Mumbai ground as well, so I don’t see any questions on his place,” Sunil Gavaskar added.
Virat Kohli wants to show that he should be the second name picked after the captain – Sunil Gavaskar
Virat Kohli would prefer to be selected as the second player, behind only the skipper, according to Sunil Gavaskar. He went on to say that he needs to perform in the same manner this year as he did in the World Cup and the IPL last year to demonstrate why he ought to be chosen second after the captain.
“When the selection committee sits, the captain will be there. So he wants to show that he should be the second name picked after the captain. To show that, he will perform like that this year as well, just as he did in the World Cup and last year in the IPL as well,” he highlighted.
In 2023, Kohli scored the most runs during the ODI World Cup. In 11 innings, he scored 765 runs at an exceptional average of 95.62 and a decent strike rate of 90.31.