Former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has revealed that Virat Kohli is keen to play in the 2027 World Cup.
In a video shared on his Instagram handle, Karthik said that Kohli knows how to handle pressure situations.
“He is keen to play the World Cup,” he said. “That is number one. In London, he was training during this big layoff he’s had – the first in a long time in his life. I also know he was practising cricket easily two to three sessions a week. Now that tells you the man is serious about wanting to play this World Cup. And if he’s around, there is no tension, in my opinion – because he knows what it takes to perform under pressure. And he’s done that time and again. I’m very confident he’ll do it again.”
Kohli retired from T20I cricket last year after helping India win the ICC T20 World Cup. He bid farewell to Test cricket earlier this year during the IPL. Now, the 36-year-old only plays ODI cricket. Many experts believe he is not an automatic pick for the upcoming ODI World Cup and will need to perform consistently to secure his place in the squad.
Kohli is undoubtedly India’s best player at No. 3 in ODI cricket, playing the anchor role so that others around him can bat freely with a higher strike rate. Karthik emphasised this point.
“Let’s start with just pure stats. Since the 2023 World Cup, he has scored 1,098 runs at an average of 64.58. If you look at how India have played in recent times, he is the fulcrum. He’s the most important glue in that team around which everyone else plays. The likes of Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, and KL Rahul all play attacking, positive cricket because they know Virat Kohli is there to absorb the pressure. If things go wrong, he’ll take care of it from one end,” he added.
The RCB batting coach also cited examples from the ICC Champions Trophy, which India won earlier this year, to support his point.
“The latest example is the Champions Trophy match against Pakistan – a bit of a wobble, and he was there at 31 for 1. Then in the semi-final against Australia – 42 for 2 – he was batting again. He got India out of a precarious situation,” he said.
For the latest sports news follow- Revsportz