Virat Kohli and Mohammad Kaif. Photo- X
Virat Kohli and Mohammad Kaif. Photo- X

Virat Kohli has a chance to become a hero just like MS Dhoni, said Mohammad Kaif ahead of the India v South Africa T20 World Cup 2024 final. This summit clash will be played on June 29 in Barbados.

Kohli will be eager to make a mark in the summit battle, as he is due for a huge innings in the tournament thus far. In the run-up to the final, Rohit Sharma’s team has gone undefeated in the tournament.

The 35-year-old batsman has proved essential for India in ICC events, but this time the team has made it this far without much help from Kohli.

Virat Kohli, who got dismissed for a duck in the semi-final against England, has only scored 75 runs in seven games this tournament. His maximum score has been 37, and his average is 10.71.

“Virat Kohli needs to remember…” Mohammad Kaif reminds Kohli of MS Dhoni’s form in the 2011 World Cup

Mohammad Kaif believes that Virat Kohli has the potential to become a hero like MS Dhoni. He highlighted parallels with Dhoni’s ODI World Cup 2011 performance, noting that the former India captain similarly delivered when it counted most. Kaif expects Kohli to deliver the same courageous knock in the T20 World Cup final in 2024.

Kaif recalled Dhoni’s match-winning knock of 91* against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium and suggested that Kohli is fully capable of pulling off something similar.

“Virat Kohli needs to remember that even Dhoni didn’t have a great World Cup in 2011, but he found form in the final. Small suggestion: He is too good a player to slog, he can play ball on merit and dominate any bowline attack.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni was out of form in the 2011 ODI World Cup. He played an unbeaten 91-run knock in the final. His six over long-on off Kulasekara is etched in everybody’s mind. That’s why I think Virat Kohli has a great chance to become a hero,” Kaif said on X.

Kaif advised Kohli to reflect on his last innings against South Africa, when he achieved his 49th ODI ton, and draw confidence from that performance.

“He must forget that he is in poor form. He had hit a century when India last played South Africa in the ODI World Cup at Eden Gardens. He was brilliant that day and played very well, but he wasn’t slogging that day but was playing the ball on merit with proper cricket shots,” Kaif added.

Also Read: T20 World Cup 2024: ‘Virat Kohli Went Out Of His Plan’- Rashid Latif