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Former South African captain AB de Villiers has offered his perspective on Virat Kohli’s underwhelming performance with the bat in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
Despite Team India’s strong performance and qualification for the semifinals, Virat Kohli has not been at his usual best. He stands out as the only area of concern in an otherwise well-established Indian team. The former Indian captain managed to accumulate just 5 runs during the group stage.
His tournament began with scores of 1 run against Ireland and 4 runs against Pakistan. In the match against the USA, Kohli failed to score any runs. Moving into the Super 8s, although he got starts in the first two games, scores of 24 and 37 against Afghanistan and Bangladesh respectively were all he could manage before being dismissed. His woes continued in the third Super 8 game against Australia where he was dismissed for a duck, marking his second such dismissal in the tournament at the hands of Josh Hazlewood.
AB de Villiers expressed concern over Virat Kohli’s current form ahead of Team India’s crucial semifinal clash. During a YouTube interaction with fans, a concerned supporter sought de Villiers’ opinion on Kohli’s form, urging him to inspire his former IPL teammate to regain his touch.
In response, de Villiers reassured fans that Kohli would soon find his stride again. He highlighted an interesting observation, noting that Kohli might be experiencing reduced pressure due to the strength of India’s batting lineup. While acknowledging the challenge of pinpointing the exact reasons behind Kohli’s recent struggles, de Villiers remained optimistic about Kohli’s ability to bounce back strongly.
“Virat will be there, don’t you worry. He’s now playing with a little bit of less pressure, having seen Rohit in good form and a fantastic batting order under him. Virat can just go and watch the ball and play. I am not sure what’s happening with his form at the end of the day,” said AB de Villiers.
“Cricket can be a fickle sport. It’s up and down, it’s a rollercoaster ride sometimes. And when you are down but you playing with this (pointing at his heart), sometimes you’re most dangerous. I believe Virat’s got a lot of this – heart, guts, fighting spirit, courage. So when it matters the most, these are the kind of guys you want in your team. So I am expecting fireworks from him and definitely favouring Team India to go on to win,” he added.
