Virat Kohli has become one of the talking points in the 2024 T20 World Cup, but not for the right reasons this edition, his rough patch with the bat has put him under the scanners. The batting maestro, who was the leading run-getter in the 2022 edition, has been struggling to get going this year in the USA and West Indies and scored just 29 runs in four innings with three single-digit scores.
Kohli struggled on the tricky New York pitch and registered strings of low scores – 1,4 and 5, while many expected it to end on the Caribbean soil, but it didn’t change much for him. In the Super 8 match against Afghanistan, Kohli had another flop outing with a run-a-ball 24-run knock.
The 35-year-old looked good in patches on Thursday, as the six he smashed off Naveen ul-Haq’s delivery reminded fans of his iconic six against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2022 group stage match.
Batting great Brian Lara has come in support of Kohli and said that the time he spent in the middle against Afghanistan will boost his confidence.
“24 off 24, you can say that’s not great but the most important thing is that he spent some time out there. India has got one step closer to winning this trophy. I believe that Virat Kohli is just gonna go from strength to strength as he comes down to the Caribbean. He’s going to Antigua next, you’re gonna see him go out there and plough and plough, he’s gonna get runs,” Lara said on Star Sports.
The Indian team management has preferred Kohli as Rohit Sharma’s opening partner over Yashasvi Jaiswal after the RCB batter’s incredible show in IPL 2024, where he won the Orange Cap. However, the move hasn’t worked out well thus far, as many critics have started raising questions over Kohli’s batting position.
Meanwhile, Lara has different thoughts about it as he feels it’s important to be patient with someone like Kohli, who is a big match player, and there are still enough games left in the tournament where India would need him.
“When he gets into full swing, it’s a different story. We just have to be very patient with him, we’re gonna see a lot of him there’s still a lot of games left in this World Cup,” he added in the same interaction.
