Virat Kohli. Photo: Spoirtzpics
Amid rumors surrounding Virat Kohli’s place in the Indian T20 World Cup squad, former South African pacer Dale Steyn on Friday, March 15, said that Virat Kohli should score big in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Royal Challengers Bangalore ( RCB) ensure he enters the coveted tournament with confidence in his place in the squad.
“Extremely important for Kohli to score big this season,” Steyn said at a press conference ahead of the announcement of Star Sports’ commentary panel for the IPL 2024.
“Some players have surpassed Kohli since he has played cricket since January and when you take a team to the World Cup you want the players who have already scored runs in a major tournament,” Steyn highlights why Kohli’s place would be in jeopardy if he scores not high in the IPL.
Meanwhile, former India pacer Irfan Pathan said that Kohli is expected to improve on his 2016 IPL performance this season.
“Kohli would be hungry to score runs as he has been out of action for the past few months,” Pathan added.
Kohli, 35, did not take part in the India vs England 5-match Test series due to personal reasons but is touted to play in the IPL.
However, rumors are circulating on social media that BCCI is putting pressure on the senior men’s selection committee and the team management to pick players purely on the winnability factor instead of looking at what they have done in the past.
What did Virat Kohli do for India in the T20 World Cups?
Kohli, who has 1141 runs in 27 matches, is the highest run scorer in the history of T20 World Cups. He was India’s top scorer in the 2014, 2016 and 2022 T20 World Cups. Therefore, it could be difficult for the selectors to remove him from the T20 line-up altogether while Rohit Sharma continues to play.
RCB will play the opening match of the IPL 2024 against Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on March 22.
| Virat Kohli batting and fielding statistics | |||||||||||||
| YEAR | MAT | NO | RENT | HS | GDPR | B.F | SR | 100 | 50 | 4S | 6S | C.T | ST |
| Career | 237 | 34 | 7263 | 113 | 37.25 | 5586 | 130.02 | 7 | 50 | 643 | 234 | 107 | 0 |
| 2023 | 14 | 2 | 639 | 101* | 53.25 | 457 | 139.82 | 2 | 6 | 65 | 16 | 13 | 0 |
| 2022 | 16 | 1 | 341 | 73 | 22.73 | 294 | 115.99 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 8 | 9 | 0 |
| 2021 | 15 | 1 | 405 | 72* | 28.92 | 339 | 119.46 | 0 | 3 | 43 | 9 | 8 | 0 |
| 2020 | 15 | 4 | 466 | 90* | 42.36 | 384 | 121.35 | 0 | 3 | 23 | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| 2019 | 14 | 0 | 464 | 100 | 33.14 | 328 | 141.46 | 1 | 2 | 46 | 13 | 5 | 0 |
| 2018 | 14 | 3 | 530 | 92* | 48.18 | 381 | 139.1 | 0 | 4 | 52 | 18 | 8 | 0 |
| 2017 | 10 | 0 | 308 | 64 | 30.8 | 252 | 122.22 | 0 | 4 | 23 | 11 | 6 | 0 |
| 2016 | 16 | 4 | 973 | 113 | 81.08 | 640 | 152.03 | 4 | 7 | 83 | 38 | 6 | 0 |
| 2015 | 16 | 5 | 505 | 82* | 45.9 | 386 | 130.82 | 0 | 3 | 35 | 23 | 7 | 0 |
| 2014 | 14 | 1 | 359 | 73 | 27.61 | 294 | 122.1 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 16 | 7 | 0 |
| 2013 | 16 | 2 | 634 | 99 | 45.28 | 457 | 138.73 | 0 | 6 | 64 | 22 | 7 | 0 |
| 2012 | 16 | 2 | 364 | 73* | 28 | 326 | 111.65 | 0 | 2 | 33 | 9 | 7 | 0 |
| 2011 | 16 | 4 | 557 | 71 | 46.41 | 460 | 121.08 | 0 | 4 | 55 | 16 | 7 | 0 |
| 2010 | 16 | 2 | 307 | 58 | 27.9 | 212 | 144.81 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 12 | 3 | 0 |
| 2009 | 16 | 2 | 246 | 50 | 22.36 | 219 | 112.32 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 8 | 9 | 0 |
| 2008 | 13 | 1 | 165 | 38 | 15 | 157 | 105.09 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
First print: March 15, 2024 | 4:04 PM IST