West Indies batting legend Brian Lara lambasted critics who said Virat Kohli was greedy and played for personal achievements during the 2023 World Cup. Lara slammed such experts, claiming that the criticism was motivated by jealously for Kohli’s tremendous successes in cricket.
In 2023’s World Cup, Kohli’s performance was a record-breaker. His 11 innings saw him smashing 765 runs with a remarkable average of 95.62 and a strike rate of 90.32. No one before him had achieved the feat of scoring over 700 runs in a single World Cup. The previous record holder was Sachin Tendulkar, who had scored 673 runs in the 2003 edition.
While most cricket commentators praised Virat Kohli for his accomplishments, some, like as Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez, accused him of being greedy, stating he slowed down to guarantee he hit hundreds. Lara disagreed with such remarks, telling Anandabazar Patrika:
“Those [who] are saying all these are jealous of him. They are envious of the amount of runs he has scored. I have faced this too in my career.”
Brian Lara
In the 2023 World Cup, Kohli hit three hundreds. In Pune, he scored an unbeaten 103 against Bangladesh. Then, on his 35th birthday, he smashed 101* against South Africa in Kolkata, breaking Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI tons in front of the Master Blaster.
Kohli surpassed Tendulkar’s record after scoring his 50th one-day century against New Zealand in Mumbai.
“I’m a big fan of his discipline and dedication” – Brian Lara hails Kohli
Despite his excellent form, Lara remains skeptical that Kohli would beat Tendulkar’s record of 100 international hundreds. He did, however, agree that if anybody is capable to shattering the mark, it is Kohli.
“Only Kohli can come close. I’m a big fan of his discipline and dedication. The way he prepares for a match by giving it his all… how can you not be his fan,” the 54-year-old said in praise of the Indian batter.”
Brian Lara
“My best wishes are with him. I’d be very happy if he could score 100 centuries like Tendulkar. Sachin was a dear friend and like I said before, I’m a big fan of Kohli.”
Brian Lara
Virat Kohli has 26,532 runs in 518 international appearances at an average of 54.36, with 80 hundreds and 138 fifties.
