Opinion

Dinesh Karthik Expects Virat Kohli ‘Will be All Guns Blazing’ for T20 World Cup Super 8

Written by Sumit Seth

Virat Kohli has had a string of low scores so far in the 2024 T20 World Cup but former wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik feels the star Indian batter will come good in the Super 8 stage.

“Rohit just got a 50 in first match. How much can he score on these pitches? Team itself is only scoring 100. Don’t worry about Virat Kohli. He will score when it matters,” Karthik was quoted as saying to Cricbuzz.

“He is never not performed in the World Cup, and there is no doubt about this World Cup too. He will 100 per cent perform. Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Virat Kohli will be there. We have qualified for the Super Eight. I promise you, he will be all guns blazing once we reach the Caribbean,” he added.

Kohli’s ‘poor form’ will be a concern for India as they square off against Canada in their final group match on Saturday.

Kohli came into the T20 World Cup after setting the IPL ablaze, scoring upwards of 700 runs at a strike-rate of over 150 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Therefore, it wasn’t an entirely misplaced expectation that he will continue to fire in the ICC showpiece, which is perhaps his final chance to earn India an ICC World Cup after 13 years.

But three matches have gone by, and Kohli has five runs at an average of 1.66, including a ‘Golden Duck’ against the USA.

His form has provided an interesting subplot to the game against tournament-debutants Canada, which is otherwise inconsequential, at least for India.

About the author

Sumit Seth