Virat Kohli and Sunil Gavaskar
Virat Kohli and Sunil Gavaskar

Virat Kohli received some golden words of advice from legendary India batter Sunil Gavaskar ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024 final between India and South Africa. This clash will happen on June 29, 2024, at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.

Kohli has struggled to score runs in the current edition as he has embraced a selfless approach at the top of the order. Following in the footsteps of Rohit Sharma, the star batsman has sought to attack the ball from the start, a deviation from his customary approach of taking his time and building an innings. So far, the strategy has not worked, with Kohil scoring only 75 runs in 7 matches.

Gavaskar advised the great batter to maintain the same body balance while playing his shots. The Indian veteran believes Kohli begins to lose his balance as he tries to blast the ball away. He also mentioned Kohli’s six off Reece Topley during the semi-final, stating that his body balance was ideal in that situation, allowing the India star to bring the bottom hand into action.

“As long as it ends in a win. It’s a final and it will be played on a better batting surface. Like I keep saying, what Kohli has to do is just play the shots that he plays with the same body balance. When he is looking to power the ball away, then he is losing his body balance and he misses the ball. So, all that needs to do is, that six he hit (off Reece Topley). It was brilliant balance and he just flicked the ball with the bottom hand. That’s all he has to do,” said Gavaskar to India Today.

Virat Kohli had come into the T20 World Cup on some blistering form in the IPL 2024, where he made 741 runs in 15 games with one century and five fifties in 15 matches.

Virat Kohli needs to chill a bit: Sunil Gavaskar

However, in the T20 World Cup, Kohli has registered two ducks including a golden duck and one against England in the semi-final of the tournament. Gavaskar also stated that when Kohli attempts to move around a lot, his head shakes a lot, which isn’t helping him. Gavaskar advised Kohli could relax a little and try to play a longer innings in the final.

“When he starts to move around, the head shakes as well. And therefore, it is not helping him. This is something you see in slow-mo as well. All that he needs to do is chill a bit and play that big hand and will give India the big score,” said Gavaskar.

Kohli will be a key player for the side in the final and the likes of Rahul Dravid and Rohit have backed the star batter to get back into form.

Also Read: ‘This Is The Time To Get Behind Virat Kohli’- Harsha Bhogle