Former Indian head coach Sanjay Bangar believes that the almighty has something special for the Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli after the team’s heartbreaking loss against the mighty Australian team in the ODI World Cup final in 2023.
Star Indian batsman Virat Kohli set a World Cup record with 765 runs at an average of 95.62 in 11 games to finish as the competition’s top scorer in the tournament. With 765 runs, Kohli set a record for most runs scored by a batter in a World Cup. In the 2003 tournament surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s 673 runs from 11 matches.
During a discussion with Star Sports, Sanjay Bangar was asked why the leading run scorer did not win the title despite his superior performance. Given that he also experienced the same fate in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and believes that the modern batting great Virat Kohli may have glory written in his fate and hopes that he gets the championship title in the next ODI World Cup.
“Virat’s desire to win the trophy, I feel he has God’s blessings, and probably God has saved something special for him. He (Kohli) crossed Sachin Tendulkar’s 49-century mark and Sachin also had to play his sixth World Cup for his first gold medal,” Sanjay Bangar added.
“Don’t know why God takes such tough examinations of such big players. That’s what I can understand – maybe destiny still wants him to play the next World Cup, and hope and pray that he gets that gold medal,” Sanjay Bangar said.
Virat Kohli was a member of India’s 2011 World Cup-winning squad. The Men in Blue lost both the 2015 and 2019 competition semifinals as well as this year’s championship match, so he hasn’t been able to add another title to that either.
Virat Kohli Played According To The Demands Of The Team’s Situation – Irfan Pathan
Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan was pleased with Virat Kohli’s performance in the ODI World Cup, where he played for the team’s requirement, alongside highlighting his 50th ODI century. He also thinks it will take a while for anyone to break the record of being the tournament’s highest run scorer.
“It was an extremely memorable World Cup for him. It was very good for him personally. He played according to the demands of the team’s situation. The best thing was that when he was heading towards the 50th century as well, he was looking towards the dressing room to check whether he was going alright.”
“The communication was going on continuously, whether he needed to play faster, which meant his attention was on the team. It is different that he didn’t get the result in the final but he has created such a run-scoring record in this World Cup, that it will take many years to break that, if it is broken,” Irfan Pathan concluded.
Virat Kohli has little trouble flaunting his dominance in a mega event. He has won Player of the Tournament multiple times at the T20 World Cup, including in the 2014 and 2016 editions. The former Indian skipper has broken numerous records, the most well-known being being the first player to reach 50 tons in one-day international cricket.
