'Never doubt Virat Kohli, he is a World Cup player'
Runs continue to come off his bat in the ongoing Indian Premier League and the BCCI selectors had no second thoughts about including his name in India’s T20 squad. Those two facts highlight that even in the twilight of his career, you discount Virat Kohli at your own peril.
There was a lot of talk about his strike rate in T20 cricket before the announcement of India’s squad for the T20 World Cup this June, but all the cricket experts had him in their 15-member squads, which also firmly reflected in the official Indian squad that was revealed earlier this week.
Irfan Pathan, former India pacer cum commentator, went a step ahead to predict that when time comes for a stiff chase during the T20 World Cup, it will be Virat Kohli that will be there till the end.
“Jab waqt aata hai, yehi player akela khada hota hai, Virat Kohli (when it’s required, he is the player who stands alone),” said Pathan while talking on Star Sports (see video below).
“Believe me, there will be a point during the T20 World Cup when there will be need, and the guy you will find chasing it till the end will be him, Virat Kohli.”
Virat has already touched the figure of 500 runs in this IPL, which includes a century and four fifties, at a strike rate of 147.49, which can’t be considered poor.
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To further stress on Kohli’s proven track record while chasing, which also earned him the nickname ‘chase master’, Pathan mentioned the India vs Pakistan match in Melbourne during the T20 World Cup where Kohli famously hit Haris Rauf for two sixes to bring India back into contention.
Virat’s 53-ball 82 not out took India to a famous four-wicket win.
“Pick all the big matches, especially when chasing, you won’t find a bigger player than him in T20 cricket. He has a calculative mind. (He is like) ‘You keep talking about strike rate, I will keep talking about chasing runs and the target.’ Never doubt Virat Kohli,” said Irfan.
“I was saying the same thing even when the squad was not yet selected. He is a big-match player, a World Cup player. When the World Cup comes, he will have an impact.”
The T20 World Cup runs from June 2 to 29 and will be jointly hosted by the West Indies and USA.
India play their opening group match against Ireland on June 5 in New York, followed by the big match against Pakistan at the same venue on June 9. Canada and co-hosts USA are the other two teams in India’s group.