Former South Africa pacer Dale Steyn believes Virat Kohli must perform well in the upcoming IPL to earn a place in India’s T20 World Cup squad as he has struggled in the past Over the months, several other players have surpassed the star batsman. Kohli has not played for India since the T20I series against Afghanistan at home in January and skipped the subsequent five-match Test series against England due to family reasons. “I think, look, it’s very important that he scores points because that will keep him in good shape going into the World Cup.

“There have been a lot of people overtaking him recently because he took a break and there are a lot of contenders who could be in the World Cup (squad),” Steyn said during an interaction during “Star Sports News.” Room. ‘In fact, Kohli has played only two T20 matches since the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.

However, Steyn, who will temporarily step down as IPL coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad this year due to family reasons, said Kohli’s experience may come in handy when the selectors sit down to pick the Indian team.

“Suffice it to say, I view runs like you view someone’s bank balance. Virat has amassed piles of runs over the years.

“That will come into play when India wants to pick a team for the World Cup. They will look for people who have been to the World Cup and done that, and Virat has done that,” Sta Because said.

Steyn, 40, also said it will be a tough task for Hardik Pandya to succeed Rohit Sharma as Mumbai Indians captain, who has led the team The team won the IPL championship five times.

“I think it will be challenging… the whole dynamic of leaving Mumbai and then coming back. I hope they hold some kind of training camp a month before the IPL. So anything that bothers anyone will be in the tournament Got settled before. First game.” Steyn, however, said Mumbai should do well under Pandya, who led the Gujarat Titans to the IPL title in 2022 .

“You have big personalities, people who have made decisions in different roles before and now. It may be that little needle that we don’t see or hear on TV. But these international cricketers know how to put the toss in On my own terms, I think Mumbai will be good,” he added.

Australian pacer Pat Cummins will be the other new captain in this year’s IPL, having been assigned to lead the Sunrisers, who acquired the 30-year-old for a whopping Rs 20.5 crore in last year’s auction services.

However, Australia batsman Steve Smith said Cummins would do well as captain as the price tag would not add any pressure to him.

“I think he will do a great job for Hyderabad during his partnership with Daniel Vettori (SRH head coach). They have a great rapport because they worked together in Australia when Dan was the assistant coach.

“Yes, he also seems to perform very well when he takes on a leadership role. So, I’m looking forward to seeing how Hyderabad perform this year,” Smith said.

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