IND vs AUS: Virat Kohli Is Going To Be A Massive Player For India In This World Cup: Mahela Jayawardene
Published - 06 Oct 2023, 05:37 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:19 AM
Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has tipped Virat Kohli to be a massive player for Team India in the ongoing 2023 World Cup. The Men in Blue are scheduled to open their campaign in the competition on Sunday (October 8).
In their World Cup opener, the Rohit Sharma-led side will lock horns against Australia, the most successful side in the history of the competition. Virat Kohli is gearing up to play his fourth World Cup. He was a part of the Indian team that beat Sri Lanka in 2011 to win the World Cup. Incidentally, Mahela Jayawardene had scored a century in that game.
Talking about Virat Kohli, the Sri Lanka legend said that Virat Kohli would be one of the most experienced players in the Indian team. He also said that Virat Kohli would have learned from Sachin Tendulkar who was the most experienced player in the Indian team during the 2011 World Cup.
“I think he’s going to be a massive player for India in this World Cup and probably the most experienced apart from Rohit. He’s gone through that cycle and would have seen what Sachin [Tendulkar] had to go through during that period. And would have learned from that,” Mahela Jayawardene told RevSportz.
“And I think he’ll be just like Rohit. I think they’re very mature competitors and they will take it in the right spirit and play and enjoy. I mean, the whole point of World Cups and these big tournaments is that you need to enjoy them. If you don’t enjoy it, it becomes a bit of a burden,” he added.
Virat Kohli’s last World Cup:
The ongoing World Cup is likely to be Virat Kohli’s last World Cup. He will be almost 39 when the next ODI World Cup takes place and is unlikely to play in that. The right-handed batsman would be desperate to win the tournament this year.
If India goes on to win the World Cup, he and Ravichandran Ashwin will become the only Indian players with two World Cup titles. Along with Virat Kohli, Ashwin was also a part of the 2011 Indian team that won the World Cup.
