World Cup 2023: "He Is Definitely Going To Turn It On During The World Cup" - Ravichandran Ashwin On Virat Kohli

The veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin believes that former Indian skipper Virat Kohli will score big in the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup 2023 later this year at home. India will host the 13th edition of the ODI World Cup in October and November, which will be the first ODI tournament to be held entirely in India. India partially hosted in 1987, 1996, and 2011.

Virat Kohli has been in brilliant form in the 50-over format this year. The former Indian captain scored 427 runs in nine matches, including two centuries, with an average of 53.38 and a strike rate of 116.03. The right-handed batter ended his century drought in the ODI last year against Bangladesh after going through without scoring a century in 2020 and 2021.

IPL 2023 | Dream11 Prediction | Fantasy Cricket Tips | Cricket Match Prediction Today | Cricket News | Cricket Live Score

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Ravichandran Ashwin said that Virat Kohli is not able to convert half centuries into big hundreds like he used to do in the past. However, the veteran off-spinner believes that Virat Kohli will turn things around in the upcoming World Cup in October and November.

“Usually, when Virat Kohli scores a fifty, he will convert it into an unbeatable hundred and prove why he is the king. But that did not happen. But fingers crossed, he is looking very good by the day. He is definitely going to turn it on during the World Cup, I have all the beliefs. Let’s back him,” said Ashwin.

IPL 2023 | India National Cricket Team | Chennai Super Kings (CSK) | Delhi Capitals (DC) | Gujarat Titans (GT) | Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) | Lucknow Supergiants (LSG) | Mumbai Indians (MI) | Punjab Kings (PBKS) | Rajasthan Royals (RR) | Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) | SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH)

Steve Smith Was Constantly Telling Ashton Agar – Ravichandran Ashwin

Ashwin discussed the tactics used by Australian captain Steve Smith during the ODI series, highlighting Ashton Agar’s bowling outside off to tempt the Indian batsmen to go to extra cover. The 36-year-old said Smith’s strategy worked against Kohli and Hardik Pandya, as they both caught at long off.

“I noticed Steve Smith was constantly telling Ashton Agar from the first slip, ‘Keep bowling it outside. Because when they see the line, they will try to go over extra cover and if the ball holds its line and goes straight, it will go straight to long-off. He also made David Warner come in a bit from long-off and set up the entire dismissal,” he added.

“When Adam Zampa and Ashton were bowling, the pitch was holding a bit. Both Virat and Hardik tried to hit over extra cover and the ball fell just short of the long-off fielder,” he concluded.

Virat Kohli will next be seen in action for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Bangalore-based franchise will begin its tournament campaign against the Mumbai Indians on April 2 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, their first match at their home ground since May 2019.

Also read: IND vs AUS: Hardik Pandya Is Unarguably The Most Important Player For India In World Cup 2023 – Dinesh Karthik

Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma | Rishabh Pant | KL Rahul | Suryakumar Yadav | Sanju Samson | Shreyas Iyer | Yuzvendra Chahal | Jasprit Bumrah