Virat Kohli played his best knock in the IPL 2024 during Royal Challengers Bengaluru's dominant win over Punjab Kings in a must-win game on Thursday, May 9. The RCB stalwart smashed 92 off just 47 balls to lead Bengaluru to their fifth win of the season and also boosted their chances of securing a playoff qualification.
The veteran batter is dominating the 17th edition of the tournament with 634 runs in 12 innings at an impressive strike rate of 153.51. However, Kohli came under criticism for his below-par strike rate during his century against Rajasthan Royals and during his 51-run off 43 balls knock against Gujarat Titans.
The 35-year-old star has remarkably silenced his critics with aggressive cricket in his last three innings. The former cricketers and cricket pundits are praising Kohli for his red-hot form with many tipping him to open for the Indian team in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024.
The former captain and the BCCI president Sourav Ganguly also pointed out Kohli's 'exceptional form' in the IPL 2024 and stated that the RCB star should open an innings in the T20 World Cup.
“Virat is playing exceptionally well," Sourav Ganguly told PTI. "The way Kohli batted last night, 90 in quick time, you need to use him as an opener in the T20 World Cup. He should open, evidenced by his last few IPL innings which have been outstanding."
Indian team is set to enter the upcoming ICC event in the USA and West Indies with just two designated openers Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal, with the struggling Shubman Gill as a reserve player. Kohli's form and his aggressive approach in powerplay make him an ideal candidate to partner Rohit as an opener in the World Cup.
India squad for World Cup 2024: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan.
