Virat Kohli Is In The Same Spot As Sachin Tendulkar Was In 2011 World Cup- Harbhajan Singh

Published - 18 Jul 2023, 03:37 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:15 AM

Virat Kohli (Credits: Twitter)

Former India spinner believes Virat Kohli’s situation in the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023 will be similar to legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s in the 2011 edition of the competition.

Virat Kohli will be the most experienced player in the Indian team in the upcoming marquee event just like Tendulkar was during the 2011 World Cup. Virat Kohli was a part of the victorious Indian team in the 2011 World Cup and has not won any World Cup since then.

While the former India skipper performed brilliantly with the bat in the 2015 and 2019 editions of the competition, he could not propel the team to victory. The upcoming World Cup might be his last chance to win the title in his illustrious career. He will be almost 39 years old when the next World Cup takes place.

Harbhajan Singh on Virat Kohli’s situation:

As Virat Kohli gets ready for what could be his last-ever World Cup, Harbhajan Singh has compared him with Tendulkar. The former India spinner has stated that the team should not put too much pressure on Virat Kohli in the tournament. Harbhajan urged other Indian batsmen to ensure that Kohli does not play under too much pressure in the marquee event.

“He will have a huge role in the World Cup. He is the kind of figure Sachin Tendulkar was in 2011. The team should actually not put so much of pressure on him and rather take some pressure away from him by taking those responsible decisions that they will do the job,” Harbhajan told News24 Sports.

“If the other guys do that job, I will say let Virat Kohli play his own game. When he plays his own game, the guy is unstoppable. He is a champion player, there is no doubt about it.

“People say he is a chase master but I say whether you get him to chase or bat first, batting-wise he is probably the best. No one can be compared to him. But set him slightly free in big matches.

“Don’t tell him that if Virat gets out, the match will be over. That should not happen. If Virat gets out, no issue, we will manage. We have Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Shubman Gill – they are all mighty players. So I hope the pressure on him is slightly reduced and he can play his game,” he added.

Kohli will enter this year’s World Cup as one of the most decorated batsmen in the history of ODIs. No active player has managed to make an impact with the bat in ODIs like Kohli. The batting superstar has scored 12898 runs at an excellent average of 57.32 in 274 ODIs so far.