NEW DELHI, May 29
Virat Kohli’s impressive recent performances with the bat during the recently-concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) signal promising times ahead for the Indian team as they prepare for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA. The veteran right-hander walked away with the Orange Cap after amassing 741 runs, inclusive of five fifties and a century.
Over the years, Kohli has been a central figure in India’s batting lineup, more so during major International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments, and it will be no different in the upcoming T20 World Cup as India hopes to end the decade-long title drought.
A lot will once again be on the shoulders of the 35-year-old Kohli, who is among the experienced players in the squad and will be featuring in his ninth World Cup (4 ODI and 5 T20I). Kohli made his World Cup debut 13 years ago in the 2011 World Cup against Bangladesh in Dhaka.
Recalling his first experience of featuring in a World Cup side, Kohli admitted he was nervous but there was a different sense of excitement to make his presence felt.
“I was the youngest member of that team and I was getting to play with all these greats of Indian cricket in a World Cup game. I was nervous. Yes, I will not lie. There is a different sense of excitement in the air when you come for a World Cup and I could sense that,” he said.
Kohli enjoyed an eventful World Cup debut, scoring a century against Bangladesh in Dhaka where he was also involved in a 203-run stand with Virender Sehwag.
Kohli, who scored an unbeaten 100 off 83 balls in that match, further revealed how he benefitted from that feeling of nervousness.
“For me, it was a moment where I was a bit nervous heading into the game and the night before I was quite nervous but that is a good sign as well because your body is preparing you to enter a situation where you’re alert, you’re not taking things for granted. I think that nervousness helped me to be aware, be alert, and be precise in the execution of my plans,” the former India U19 captain said.
While he has been phenomenal across all formats, Kohli is a different beast when it comes to T20Is. He is the leading run-scorer of T20 World Cups, having scored 1141 runs from just 25 innings with an average of 81.50 and a strike-rate of 131.30.
India will face Bangladesh in a warm-up game on June 1 as a part of their preparation in the T20 World Cup set to be held in the USA and West Indies.
The Rohit Sharma-led outfit will begin the main tournament against Ireland on June 5 before taking on arch-rivals Pakistan on June 9, followed by two more group games against the US on June 12 and Canada on June 15.
