Does India need Virat Kohli, the ‘anchor’ of the 2024 T20 World Cup? | cricket news

The 2024 T20 World Cup, which begins a few days after the conclusion of the 2024 Indian Premier League, provides another opportunity for India to end its international ICC trophy drought. Many players are hoping to be named in India’s 15-man squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup to be held in West Indies and the United States. With the ongoing IPL season being seen as an audition for the ICC tournament, the Indian think tank will carefully analyze the performance of the players and some spots in the team are still up for grabs.

However, India’s batting remains centered around Virat Kohli, who has blasted 316 runs in five innings this season at an average of 105.33 and a strike rate of 146.30 in the orange cap.

The right-hander has hit three fifty-plus scores in IPL 2024, including an unbeaten highest score of 113 against Royal Challengers Bangalore against Rajasthan Royals.

Opening the batting for RCB this season, Kohli’s strike rate has been significantly higher than his overall IPL strike rate of 130.63. However, it will be interesting to see how Kohli will be used by the Men in Blue in the T20 World Cup.

While Kohli has played the role of RCB’s opening attacker this season, he has also shown that he is still capable of dominating an innings if the situation calls for it. His unbeaten 113 against Rajasthan and 83 against Kolkata Knight Riders prove this.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at what role Kohli can play in the T20 World Cup in June.

Kohli to play in T20 World Cup

The former India captain has been a true match-winner for India since his international debut. In the T20 World Cup, he scored 1,141 runs in 25 innings at an average of 81.50 and a strike rate of over 130.

In addition to his astonishing statistics, he was also named the player of the tournament in the T20 World Cup in 2014 and 2016.

His winning goals in crucial matches – 72* against South Africa (2014), 82* against Australia (2016) and the iconic 82* against Pakistan (2022) – are a hit for Indian fans Unparalleled and still holds special significance. Interestingly, in all these knocks, Kohli lifted one end and wickets fell at the other end.

What do the courses in the West Indies offer?
Changes in soil composition and moisture affect the rhythm and bounce of the West Indies pitch. Venues in the Caribbean tend to be slow circuits these days, very similar to those in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and some other venues in the subcontinent.

Kohli is ruthless in slow bowls where the ball fails to keep pace, making him a danger for either side.

Kohli’s T20I record in West Indies

Number of games: 3

Score 112
Average score: 37.33
Hit rate: 141.77

His T20I figures in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were also outstanding, at 55.83 and 94.40 respectively.

Is ‘Anchor’ Kohli a good fit for India’s T20 plans?

Overall, Kohli has scored 4,037 runs in 117 games at an average of 51.75 and is India’s highest run-scorer in the tournament. He scored 37 fifties in the 2022 Asia Cup and scored a jaw-dropping 122* against Afghanistan. There may be room for improvement in his strike rate of 138.15, but he has shown that he can bowl hard from the get-go if he deems it necessary. .

In 2023, apart from the three Asian Games matches in China, India will also play 20 T20Is. Kohli did not feature in any of the matches, with the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma and Shreyas Iyer Batsmen are more recognized than him.

After a long absence from the game after the 2022 T20 World Cup, Kohli played his first T20 international against Afghanistan in February 2024. He scored just 29 points in the two-game series but shot 170.58 from the field.

Having said that, we must also point out that Kohli’s recent 67-ball hundred against Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2024 is the slowest ton in the history of the league.

Considering how much the dynamics of T20 have changed over the years, batsmen are now becoming more aggressive right from the start. In fact, IPL 2024 has already witnessed two record-breaking team scores this year: SRH’s 277 runs against MI and KKR’s 272 runs against DC.

Having said that, with the West Indies pitches likely not to host many high-scoring matches, Kohli’s inclusion in the Indian squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup is a no-brainer. His presence in the middle slot as the anchor will provide balance to the swashbuckling and aggressive style of Suryakumar Yadav, Linku Singh, Rohit Sharma and Shivam Dubey.

India has given the world many great cricketers, but Virat Kohli has found himself in a league of his own in the modern era. Opening batting candidates like Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill are all vying for a T20 World Cup berth, and it makes perfect sense for Kohli to be the main man in the side, considering his ability to play according to match situations and his wealth of experience. The ICC tournament is synonymous with high-stakes pressure situations.