Sunil Gavaskar, a former Indian opener, has backed star batter Virat Kohli despite his lack of form in the 2024 T20 World Cup. Kohli has scored only five runs in three innings, with an average of 1.66 and a strike rate of 55.55.
In his most recent outing against the United States, the champion hitter was dismissed for a golden duck. While Team India has won all three matches in the tournament to go to the Super Eights, Kohli’s dismal form at the top of the order has raised concerns.
The star batter has endured three consecutive failures in the T20 World Cup 2024 and only made five runs in three innings with scores of 1 (vs Ireland), 4 (vs Pakistan), and 0 (vs USA). In the last match against the USA, Kohli was out on a golden duck.
Talking to Star Sports at the end of the India-USA contest, Gavaskar backed Kohli to come into his own soon.
“When you get three low scores, it doesn’t mean he is not batting well. Sometimes you get good deliveries. Any other day, the ball would’ve gone wide or over the slip for a boundary, today it didn’t. So, there’s nothing to worry about. We have to show faith in him. Much believe that he is going to come good, sooner rather than later,” said Gavaskar.
Kohli is the most prolific run-scorer in T20 World Cup history, with 1,146 runs at an average of 67.41 and a strike rate of 130.52 across 30 games.
Virat Kohli has won India so many games: Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar reminded fans of Kohli’s earlier achievements and urged the star batter to be patient and trust his abilities.
The 35-year-old entered the present T20 World Cup after a successful IPL 2024 season. Kohli won the Orange Cap with 741 runs, an average of 61.75, and a strike rate of nearly 155 in 15 games.
“The biggest motivation for any player is to win matches, especially when you are playing for your country. He has done so well for India over the years and won so many games. I think he recognizes that. We are in the early phases of the tournament. There’s Super 8s, semi-finals, and hopefully the final. All he needs to do is show patience and faith in himself, which I think he has plenty,” said Gavaskar in the same discussion.
Despite Kohli’s troubles, Team India leads Group A with a hat-trick of victories, advancing to the next stage. On Saturday, June 15, they will play a meaningless match against Canada in Florida to conclude their group stage.
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