Why India Need Virat Kohli In 2024 T20 World Cup? Ex-India Star Explains

18.08.2023 - 12:19 sports.ndtv.com

Virat Kohli is undoubtedly one of the greatest batters in the world across all three formats. Known for his blistering knocks, the 34-year-old batter is en-route to breaking Sachin Tendulkar's historic record of 100 international centuries.

While he is breathing fire in the ODIs and Tests, Kohli has not featured in a single T20I match since India's debacle in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022.

Kohli, along with skipper Rohit Sharma has been missing out on the T20Is with all-rounder Hardik Pandya, donning the captain's hat.

However, the recent loss against West Indies in the five-match T20I series has raised a lot of questions on the management and team selection.

cricket India Cricket Team Ireland Cricket Team 2024 cup Virat Kohli Rohit Sharma Sachin Tendulkar Ireland India

Legendary India batter Sunil Gavaskar has shared his views on the idea of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli batting at no. 4 to make room for Ishan Kishan to open the innings with Shubman Gill. With the Asia Cup set to begin in a week's time, the debate around the no. 4 batting continues to intensify. During the press conference of India's Asia Cup squad announcement, India captain Rohit also shared his views on the same. Gavaskar doesn't want to disturb the batting position of Rohit, who feels that the team needs to be flexible.

Virat Kohli Aces Yo-Yo Test Ahead Of Asia Cup 2023, Shares His Score

Gearing up for a busy period where the Indian team will be involved in the Asia Cup and the ODI World Cup 2023, Virat Kohli aced the Yo-Yo test score. Taking to Instagram, the talismanic Indian batter shared a picture of him on the ground right after the fitness test. With the picture, Kohli also revealed his Yo-Yo test score which came out to be 17.2. As per reports, the BCCI demands at least a score of 16.5 from players in Yo-Yo tests. Kohli is happily quite ahead of the mark.

Indian Cricket Team Stars Are 'Scared' Of Virat Kohli Doing This Act. Teammate Reveals

Virat Kohli, the ex-Indian cricket team captain, was a passionate one when he was at the helm of the side. He put extra focus on fitness and fast bowlers' line-up. Kohli, the batter, is among the modern day greats. With 76 tons, Kohli is only second to Sachin Tendulkar in terms of international centuries. But what about Kohli, the bowler? For the record he has four wickets each in ODI and T20Is. In first-class cricket too he has three wickets.

Can Virat Kohli Bat At No.4 For India In ICC World Cup 2023? Ravichandran Ashwin's Interesting Comment

Veteran Indian cricket team spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has supported former head coach Ravi Shastri's suggestion that star batter Virat Kohli can end up batting at No. 4 if the team composition demands for it. Questions remain over the No. 4 batting position ahead of ICC World Cup 2023 with both KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer both recovering from injuries and Tilak Varma making a name for himself with brilliant knocks against West Indies. Ashwin said that apart from Kohli, India can end up playing a left-hander in the position or experiment with wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan.

Sourav Ganguly's Sharp Reply To Shoaib Akhtar's 'Virat Kohli Should Retire From ODIs After World Cup' Comment

Legendary Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar recently suggested that India star Virat Kohli should consider retiring from white-ball cricket after the ICC World Cup 2023 in order to manage his workload and give himself a better chance of breaking Sachin Tendulkar's record of scoring 100 centuries. In an interaction with Revsportz, Akhtar said that Kohli should look into 'prolonging his Test career' and he was of the opinion that playing white-ball cricket takes a lot out of him which can hamper his chances of having a long career in Test cricket.

"God's Way Of Telling Him...": Shoaib Akhtar Sums Up Virat Kohli's T20 World Cup Knock vs Pakistan

As India and Pakistan gear up for multiple showdowns over the next few months, the chatter around the two team's last face-off in the T20 World Cup 2022 gets more and more intense. It was Virat Kohli who single-handedly won the match for the team. His twin sixes against Haris Rauf at the fag end of the match earned him the crown of 'King' once again. Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar knows Babar Azam's men would need to get the better of Kohli if they are to beat India. But, looking beyond the ODI World Cup, Akhtar doesn't feel Kohli should play white-ball cricket anymore.