Former Indian cricket player Sanjay Manjrekar is not worried about Virat Kohli’s recent struggles with his batting performance. Manjrekar thinks that the overall performance and momentum of the Indian team is more crucial as they prepare for the T20 World Cup final against South Africa. Kohli, a key player for India, has had difficulty dominating the bowlers, unlike his strong performances while playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL). Since arriving in the USA and the West Indies for this important tournament, Kohli has been having a tough time, trying to find his old form and score runs consistently.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma and several ex-cricket players think that Kohli has been holding back to deliver a great performance in the championship game. However, Manjrekar, who analyzes the game as an expert on the ‘Caught and Bold’ show on Disney Hotstar, is more interested in the overall team’s performance than just one player’s form.
“I’m not too worried about Virat Kohli’s current form because the team’s overall performance is much more significant,” Manjrekar explained to ANI.
In seven games, Kohli, who has a lot of experience, has had trouble finding a good streak of form and putting together consistent performances while playing as an opener with Rohit.
In the 2024 IPL, he scored an impressive 741 runs, but in the World Cup, he only managed to score 75 runs with an average of 10.71 during the whole tournament.
Even though Kohli didn’t perform, India performed well as a team, with a different player stepping up to help the team win.
Rohit Sharma is leading the team boldly, and Manjrekar thinks India can finally win the ICC World Cup again because of the new strategy they’ve started using, which has been very successful for them.
“India definitely has a chance to win the 2024 World Cup. They’ve developed a new, modern style for T20 cricket, and it’s been very successful so far,” Manjrekar said.
Both South Africa and India have made it to the final without losing a game, setting up a match between two undefeated teams.
Manjrekar evaluated the potential danger from the South African players and believes that their top fast bowlers and powerful opening batsman might challenge the Indian team’s goal of winning the T20 World Cup.
“I think one of the fast bowlers, either Anrich Nortje or Rabada, or the batsman Quinton De Kock could be a problem for India,” Manjrekar said.
India is set to compete in the championship game on Saturday against South Africa at the Kensington Oval. If the weather prevents the match from happening, there is also a backup day planned.
