Former West Indies opener Chris Gayle has backed his former RCB batting partner Virat Kohli to dominate with the bat in the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023 which will be played in India from October 5-November 19.
Kohli has been in stellar form with the bat since ending his century drought last year during the Asia Cup in UAE. He was struggling for form in ODIs last year but the hundred, his first after a 2-year gap, against Bangladesh at Chattogram in December 2022 opened the floodgate.
The former captain has scored 427 runs at an average of 53.37, hitting 3 hundreds in just 9 matches.
The right-hander also hit two back-to-back centuries during the recently-concluded Indian Premier League (IPL 2023) season. He scored 639 runs in 14 matches for the franchise.
Gayle feels Kohli is in the right frame of mind, which makes him the player to watch out for during the tournament.
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"Tough times don't last long tough players last longer. Virat is tough mentally as well physically. I don't see any reason why he shouldn't go to this World Cup and dominate. As players, we always go through phases where things seem a bit dull and you need positive energy around to uplift yourself. Once we get back in the groove, we know how dangerous we can be,” Gayle said to PTI.
India won the ODI World Cup in 2011, the last time it was held in India, under MS Dhoni's captaincy. After winning the Champions Trophy in 2013, success has eluded the Men in Blue.
Furthermore, Gayle said that India will be under pressure given that they are playing at home.
“I know India has not won an ICC trophy in a long time and the same is the case with us (West Indies). We last won in 2016. Pressure will be on India as they play at home as favorites," Gayle told PTI.
India will begin their CWC 2023 campaign on October 8 against Australia in Chennai and will clash against Pakistan in the high-voltage match in Ahmedabad on October 15.
