“India can’t win the T20 World Cup without Virat Kohli”
Former India captain and ex-selection committee chairman Kris Srikkanth believes that the Men in Blue will struggle to win the T20 World Cup in 2024 if Virat Kohli is not part of the team. He dismissed reports, critics, and rumours that suggested the management had decided to exclude the veteran batter from the tournament.
The T20 World Cup is scheduled to take place in the West Indies and the USA in June. Kohli recently made a comeback to the T20I team after a 14-month gap for the three-match series against Afghanistan. He played in two games but did not perform well with the bat. He is expected to play for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2024 Indian Premier League after missing the five-match Test series against England for personal reasons.
According to the Telegraph, the BCCI, management, and selectors agree that Kohli is not suitable to represent India in the World Cup.
Srikkanth said:
“There is no chance of Virat Kohli not travelling with the team. He has to be there in the squad. He took us to the semi-final of the T20 World Cup in 2022 and was Player of the Tournament in the ODI World Cup. These critics and rumour mongers have no job. What is the basis of this report? If India has to win the T20 World Cup, Virat Kohli is a must.”
There are concerns about Virat's strike rate in T20 cricket. In the previous World Cup, he scored 296 runs in only 6 matches and played an exceptional innings against Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.