Sunil Gavaskar takes a jibe at Virat Kohli, says he might not play in IPL 2024

With Virat Kohli skipping the entire five-match Test series against England, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has taken a cheeky dig at him. The batting superstar has not played a competitive game since the T20I series against Afghanistan last month.

He was named in India’s squad for the first two Tests against England and also traveled to Hyderabad for the series opener. However, he left Hyderabad just before the start of the first Test and pulled out of both games citing personal reasons. While he was expected to return for the last three Tests, the BCCI announced that the former captain would miss the remaining games as well.

Later, Virat Kohli revealed the reason behind his absence. The India star revealed that he and his wife Anushka Sharma were blessed with their second child – son Akaay. He is now expected to return to action next month when the Indian Premier League (IPL) gets underway.

Sunil Gavaskar’s dig at Virat Kohli:

As Virat Kohli gears up to return to action in IPL 2024, Sunil Gavaskar has taken a dig at him. The legendary batsman cheekily suggested that Virat Kohli might not play the IPL as well.

“Kya woh khelenge… kuchh reason ke liye khel nahin rahe hain, shaayad ho sakta hai ke IPL ke liye bhi na khele (Will he play… He is not playing because of some reason, perhaps he may not play in IPL as well),” Sunil Gavaskar said when asked if Kohli would be hungry for runs in the IPL after the long break.

The former cricketer-turned-commentator made the comments while interacting with the students of the Indian Institute of Management, Ranchi during a Star Sports Star event. He was recently in Ranchi for the just-concluded fourth Test between India and England.

Speaking further, Gavaskar said that Dhruv Jurel could be promoted in Rajasthan Royals’ batting order and turn out to be a superstar.

“He could be promoted up the order. Jurel could be the superstar after this performance in the Test matches. Even Akash Deep could get more exposure in RCB and play the role of the death over specialist which they were missing last season,” said Gavaskar.

IPL 2024 is scheduled to start from March 22. Reigning champions Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore will be up against each other in the tournament opener.