Virat Kohli: Team India are looking well prepared for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024, and they had a sufficient break after the IPL 2024. The Men in Blue will play one warmup game on Saturday against Bangladesh in New York to prepare for the conditions to be offered in the USA. The Indian team led by Rohit Sharma have a great chance to win the tournament because of the number of individual match-winners in the team. Virat Kohli is certainly one of those.
The former Indian captain has been in red-hot form and is coming off a superb season in the Indian Premier League. He scored the most runs in the IPL 2024, and those runs came at a good rate. Virat scored a total of 741 runs at an average of over 60 and a strike rate of over 150. He is also the leading scorer in the history of T20 World Cups. These stats are enough to show his stature in the team.
T20 World Cup 2024: Sanjay Manjrekar unsure of Virat Kohli’s ability to win big matches
Virat Kohli was the highest scorer in the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia and was one of the reasons for India’s semi-final journey. Similarly, a lot will depend on how he performs in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024. The pitches in the USA and West Indies are expected to be slow, which might be suitable for his batting style. But former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar is unsure about his ability to perform in big matches.
In an interaction on Star Sports, Manjrekar said that Virat doesn’t bat freely when it comes to knockouts and takes the pressure upon himself. He said, “The only worry, come the big game (semis and final), Virat will take it upon himself. You see that happening in all the big games; he feels obligated to bat longer due to the kind of stature he has, to bat longer rather than bat freely. Rohit Sharma will do that (bat freely), no matter his stature. I’m worried about Virat Kohli when it comes to semis and finals.”
Furthermore, Manjrekar also said that modern-day T20 cricket doesn’t require an anchor. He added that teams don’t need a player as an anchor, especially when you are batting first, because it can kill the momentum of the match. Team India will play their opening match on June 5 against Ireland in New York, and the high-profile IND vs PAK contest will be played on June 9.
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