"Virat Kohli wants to show the Indian selectors that his name should be the 2nd pick for T20 World Cup 2024 after Rohit Sharma.."- Sunil Gavaskar

Former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar opened up about Virat Kohli making it into the national team for the T20 World Cup 2024. Sunil Gavaskar expressed confidence in Virat Kohli’s position in India’s squad for the marquee tournament, despite doubts raised by some.

Virat Kohli returned to India’s T20I side for the series against Afghanistan after a prolonged absence in the format. The star batter opted out of the first match due to personal reasons. He scored 29 runs in the second match, followed by a duck in the final game.

Virat Kohli Scores A Lot Of Runs – Sunil Gavaskar

During a discussion on Star Sports, Sunil Gavaskar addressed whether Virat Kohli should be part of India‘s squad for the T20 World Cup. Gavaskar stated that Kohli’s place in the squad is unquestionable if he maintains his form during the IPL.

“Absolutely, because questions are being asked whether a young team should be taken as we couldn’t win the ICC 50-over World Cup with this team. So for T20, which is called a young man’s game, do we need young players?”

“If you check fitness and speed, Virat Kohli’s speed is more than some of the youngsters. If he has a good season, and why shouldn’t he have a good season because he scores a lot of runs at the Bangalore ground and he has scored a lot of runs on the Mumbai ground as well, so I don’t see any questions on his place,” Gavaskar added.

The 35-year-old batter returned to his form in the last edition of the IPL. Kohli amassed 639 runs in 14 matches with a remarkable average of over 53, including two centuries and six half-centuries. He was RCB’s second-highest run-scorer after skipper Faf du Plessis.

It’s worth mentioning that India played their last bilateral T20 series before the World Cup. The selectors will closely monitor the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 before finalizing the squad, as the World Cup will begin a few weeks after the conclusion of the event.

Virat Kohli Should Be The Second Name Picked After The Captain – Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar said that Virat Kohli should be the second pick after the captain in the T20 World Cup squad. Gavaskar believes Kohli will deliver strong performances in the upcoming IPL, similar to his displays in the World Cup and the previous IPL season.

“When the selection committee sits, the captain will be there. So he wants to show that he should be the second name picked after the captain. To show that, he will perform like that this year as well, just as he did in the World Cup and last year in the IPL as well,” Gavaskar further added.

Kohli emerged as the top run-getter in the 2023 ODI World Cup. The right-handed batter amassed 765 runs across 11 innings at an impressive average of 95.62 and a decent strike rate of 90.31.

Also read: ‘When Virat Kohli, And KL Rahul Return…’ – Pragyan Ojha Feels These Batters Will Be Dropped From Test Team