There was a lot of debate around star batter Virat Kohli's place in India’s squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, slated to be held in the West Indies and USA from June 1 to June 29.
Many critics had argued that Kohli’s batting approach isn’t suitable for modern T20Is, citing his strike rate and struggles against spin.
However, Virat performed consistently for RCB in the ongoing IPL and earned a place in India’s 15-member squad announced for the upcoming T20 World Cup on Tuesday (April 30).
After his T20 World Cup selection, South African legend AB de Villiers lambasted Virat Kohli’s critics, saying that he’s had enough of the chatter surrounding his former RCB team-mate’s strike rate in the shortest format.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, De Villiers reminded fans of Kohli’s legacy as one of the greatest to have played the sport and also asked his critics how many centuries they had scored at the highest level.
“Virat Kohli catching criticism about his strike-rate. It’s been going on for way too long, and I am fed up with that now. I am frustrated to say the least. This guy is one of the best to ever play the game of cricket,” De Villiers said.
“He’s incredible in the IPL. he plays a certain role for RCB and I’ve had pretty much of these data-driven pundits who keep criticising this man when you don’t really have knowledge of the game. How many games of cricket have you played? How many IPL hundreds have you scored?”
“His strike-rate this year has been even better than the record-breaking season which he had (in 2016). I don’t know where this criticism is coming from. He is batting like a dream. All I can say is ‘Virat, keep playing like you are,’” he added.
Notably, Kohli and India skipper Rohit Sharma didn’t play a T20I match after the last T20 World Cup until they made a return to the shortest format for India during the home series against Afghanistan earlier this year.
Hardik Pandya, who led the T20I side in Rohit's absence last year, has been named the vice-captain for the global showpiece tournament.
On a separate note, De Villiers opined that No. 3 is an ideal batting position for Virat Kohli and India should open with Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the forthcoming T20 World Cup.
“I have said in the past and I still believe that Virat Kohli is best suited at No. 3. I know he loves to open the batting, but by batting at 3, it will allow Faf du Plessis and Will Jacks to go after the bowling and then allow to monitor the innings accordingly,” he remarked.
Team India’s 15-member squad for T20 World Cup 2024:
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, Akshar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh
Travelling Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan
