Sanjay Bangar, former Indian batting coach, suggests having Virat Kohli, the senior batter, in India’s T20 World Cup 2024 team for the matches in the West Indies and the US from June 4 to 30. Bangar believes Kohli’s experience is vital for significant games.
Kohli was a member of the Indian team that made it to the semifinals of the 2022 T20 World Cup held in Australia. Impressively, he emerged as the top scorer of the tournament, accumulating 296 runs across six matches at an average of 98.67 and a strike rate of 136.41.
In a significant showdown against Pakistan, the 34-year-old played a remarkable innings, scoring an unbeaten 82 off 53 balls, securing a thrilling last-ball win for India at the MCG. However, neither Kohli nor Rohit Sharma has appeared in a T20I for India since the World Cup. Supporting Kohli’s inclusion in the upcoming T20 World Cup, Bangar expressed on the YouTube channel ‘Cricket Basu’:
“Hundred percent, he should be there in the T20 team. What he did in the previous T20 World Cup and in those close matches, I don’t see the reason why he can’t be seen playing T20 cricket and next year’s T20 World Cup.”
Expanding on his rationale, Bangar further explained that having experience in crucial moments will hold significant importance during the major tournament. The 50-year-old remarked:
“You know that in big situations where emotions run high, one small mistake could cost you dear. You need big players who have gone through those situations. At that point, it doesn’t really matter what your strike-rate is, or what you have done in the IPL, in big games you require big match players. He (Kohli) showed such spirit in the India-Pakistan game.”
Kohli holds the top position as the highest run-scorer in T20Is, having hammered 4008 runs in 115 matches with an average of 52.73 and a strike rate of 137.96.
“Kohli possesses the ability to achieve a century without needing to hit a six” – Sanjay Bangar
Although certain critics have highlighted the role of strike rate as a reason for Kohli’s absence from the T20I team, Bangar did not agree with this assessment. He believes that the former Indian captain has the skill to achieve a century even without hitting a six.
“Everyone has a style of scoring and it doesn’t mean that only big hitters can win a game. If that would have been the case, the West Indies team would have won all the T20 World Cups. Virat Kohli is such a batsman who can score a hundred without hitting a six.”
“And he has done that. Against Gujarat Titans, he didn’t score a single six and yet scored a century. All his shots were grounded and that speaks volumes about Virat Kohli,” Bangar elaborated.
In the 2023 IPL season, Kohli shone for RCB, amassing 639 runs in 14 games at a strike rate of 139.82, with two centuries and six half-centuries.
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