IPL 2021: Winning Trophy With RCB Is More Important Than IPL Century For Virat Kohli, Says Saba Karim

Former India wicketkeeper, Saba Karim feels that Virat Kohli would prefer to win the IPL 2021 with Royal Challengers Bangalore than to end his century drought. Virat Kohli has gone more than a year without a three-figure score, in international cricket or in the IPL.

His last century came in November 2019 – he went the entire 2020, which included a season of IPL in the UAE, without notching up a century, and couldn’t do in the first three months of 2021 as well.

However, Saba Karim reckons that a century would not be on the RCB skipper’s mind, for it is already occupied in planning for the upcoming 14th edition of the IPL and helping his side to its maiden title.

“If you ask Virat Kohli about what he wants from this IPL, whether he wants to score a century or if wants RCB to be the champion, I feel Virat Kohli will definitely say that his dream is for RCB to be the champions and he has a significant contribution in that.

“I don’t think whether he scores a century or not will make a difference to Virat Kohli’s career. Yes, the difference will be made if Virat Kohli grabs the elusive IPL trophy,” Saba Karim told India News.

Opening the batting gives him a very big opportunity for him to post a big score: Saba Karim

Virat Kohli issued a challenge, loud and clear, to other franchises when he announced that he will spearhead RCB’s batting by opening in IPL 2021. Kohli has, in fact, been immensely successful at the top – he had a freakish season in 2016 where he scored 4 centuries and amassed an unreal 973 runs while opening the batting; he added another ton in 2019, again while batting at the top.

Saba Karim opines that opening the innings will give the RCB captain an opportunity to post a big total. But he also cautioned Kohli against spinners as he has been getting out surprisingly to them in the past couple of years.

RCB plays the season opener against defending champions Mumbai Indians at the Chepauk; they will play 2 more games in Chennai, where the pitch offers assistance to spinners.

“It (playing on spin-friendly tracks in Chennai) will definitely be challenging, but the good thing is that Virat has decided to open the batting. It will be a very big opportunity for him to post a big score,” the 53-year-old former keeper added.

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