T20 World Cup 2024: "I was nervous, Yes, I will not lie" - Virat Kohli on playing his first-ever World Cup game

Virat Kohli will be one of the most experienced players in the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup. The former India skipper has been playing in the T20 World Cups since the fourth edition which took place way back in 2012. 

As of now, he is one of the most decorated players in the history of T20Is as well as the T20 World Cup. Very few batters have excelled as him in the shortest format of the game. No player has scored more runs than him in the T20 World Cup as well as in the T20Is.

His record in the ODI World Cup is equally impressive. Only the legendary Sachin Tendulkar has scored more runs than him in the 50-over World Cup. And while Virat Kohli is one of the most decorated batters in the history of the game, he has admitted that he was nervous as well while playing his first-ever World Cup game.

Kohli made his debut in the World Cup in 2011 during the ODI World Cup. He faced Bangladesh in Dhaka and announced his arrival at the grand stage in style. The right-handed batsman scored a stunning century on his World Cup debut to power India to a win. Speaking to Star Sports, Virat Kohli recalled his first World Cup game and said:

"It was against Bangladesh in Dhaka, my first game and I was nervous. Yes, I will not lie. There is a different sense of excitement in the air when you come for a World Cup and I could obviously sense that. I was the youngest member of that team and I was getting to play with all these greats of Indian cricket in a World Cup game."

"For me it was definitely a moment where I was a bit nervous heading into the game and definitely the night before I was quite nervous but that is a good sign as well because your body is preparing you to enter a situation where you’re alert, you’re not taking things for granted. I think that nervousness helped me to be aware, be alert and be absolutely precise in the execution of my plans," he added.

Talking about Virat Kohli's record in the T20 World Cups, he has scored 1141 runs in 27 games so far at a stunning average of more than 81. He has also hit 14 fifties in the T20 World Cup. In the ODI World Cup, the India star scored 1795 runs with the help of five centuries and 12 half-centuries.

Virat Kohli eyes first T20 World Cup:

While Virat Kohli has done extremely well in the T20s so far, he is yet to win the title. He was a part of the Indian team that won the ODI World Cup in 2011 and would be desperate to win the T20 World Cup this year. He is also in brilliant form and will be entering the competition after finishing IPL 2024 as the highest run-scorer.