'Virat Kohli didn't score because...' - Harbhajan Singh backs batter despite poor stats in T20 WC 2024 due to this crucial reason

Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has backed Virat Kohli’s poor record with the bat in the first three games of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Harbhajan Singh feels it would be wrong to judge any Indian batters due to the pitch conditions. 

India has played all three games in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, USA. The ground has emerged low-scoring one and batters from all teams have struggled to pile up runs. For instance, the top-ever team total team total at the stadium was 137 by Canada. 

Team India won all of their games at the stadium in low-scoring encounters. Moreover, Virat Kohli failed to give decent starts in all three games. Virat Kohli got out for 1,4, and 0 against Ireland, Pakistan, and the USA respectively. 

Notably, his opening partner Rohit Sharma also failed to get a good knock in the last two games. However, he slammed a half-century in the opening game against Ireland. Therefore, Kohli is yet to fire as an opener with the bat in T20 World Cup 2024. 

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Virat Kohli didn't score runs because of conditions: Harbhajan Singh 

During a conversation on Star Sports, former cricketer-turned-commentator Harbhajan Singh was asked about Virat Kohli's poor scores in the T20 World Cup 2024. The former off-spinner feels it would be wrong to judge any Indian batter with the kind of pitch in the first three games. 

"I will get a lot of shortcomings if I try to find them on that pitch, but I do not want to judge anyone on that pitch because batting was difficult on that pitch. There was a lot of help for the bowlers. However, the one thing I would want to see is consistency," he said. 

"Virat Kohli didn't score runs there because the conditions were like that. You cannot judge a player in those conditions. He has come here from there, his confidence will be high here. As Navjot Sidhu also said, all batters would have offered Prasad as they got rid of that pitch," he further added. 

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India to move to Florida for next clash against Canada 

Indian team is all set to face Canada in their last Group A clash. The match shifts to a new venue as the IND vs CAN game is scheduled to be played at Central Broward Regional Park Stadium in Lauderhill, Florida. 

Notably, it is the first and oldest ground in the USA and is considered a high-scoring one. Harbhajan Singh expects Kohli to come up with a powerful show in the IND vs CAN encounter. 

"Runs are obviously expected from Virat Kohli here. Along with that, we need to consistently see partnerships which we weren't getting in the first six overs. Then your middle order is set", the former spinner further said. 

Kohli plays an opener in T20 World Cup 2024 

Interestingly, Kohli has left his one-down position in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024 and moved up the order as an opener. The Rohit Sharma-Virat Kohli pair is yet to come up with a brilliant partnership. 

With the new venue coming into the picture, the duo might come up with an outstanding stand for the opening wicket. Kohli and Sharma had a stunning form in IPL 2024 last month. While Kohli ended as the top run-getter in the tournament, Sharma slammed an IPL ton.