Sunil Gavaskar believes it is premature to argue whether Virat Kohli should be included in the Men in Blue’s 2024 T20 World Cup roster.
Gavaskar said that another Indian Premier League season will be played before the next T20 World Cup, and that talks over Kohli’s position should take place based on his form at that time.
After side India failed to win the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia under the guidance of Rohit Sharma, rumors circulated that the skipper and Virat Kohli would be moved out of the T20I side.
Kohli has been in spectacular form in T20 cricket in recent months. He even hit back-to-back hundreds in the present IPL, breaking Chris Gayle’s record for most IPL hundreds.
Gavaskar told Sports Tak in response to a question on whether the senior batter should be included in India’s T20 World Cup team in 2024:
“The next T20 World Cup will be played in 2024. There will be another IPL before that in March-April. His form should be observed at that point. There is no point talking about it now. If we are talking about an upcoming T20 international, say India are playing a match in June, then he definitely fits into the team, the kind of form that he has shown.”
“But, speaking about the 2024 World Cup, which will be held in West Indies and America, the form of players needs to be observed in the IPL before that and then we can talk about selection for the World Cup squad.”
Kohli scored 639 runs in 14 IPL 2023 matches, with two hundreds and six fifties, at an average of 53.25 and a strike rate of 139.82.
Gavaskar praises Kohli’s recent form
Gavaskar after analysing Kohli’s current form, reaffirmed that the 34-year-old belongs into India’s current T20I team.
The former India captain praised the batter for his outstanding efforts in the IPL 2023, saying:
“Virat would definitely be in my T20I team on current form for India’s upcoming matches in the format. He has scored two hundreds [in IPL 2023]. Hitting two hundreds… in T20 cricket, even scoring 50 is difficult. This great batter has notched up two hundreds.
“If I was a selector and India were playing a T20 in June this year, I would, without doubt, pick him in the squad.”
Despite Kohli’s heroics, Royal Challengers Bangalore did not make the IPL 2023 playoffs. In their last league game, they were defeated by Gujarat Titans by six wickets and ended sixth in the points standings.