“It doesn’t mean he is not batting well…” Sunil Gavaskar defends Kohli for poor WC form

New Delhi: Team India had a memorable win against the United States in the last game. However, for Team India the major worry is that Virat Kohli’s World Cup sojourn has hit rough seas in the past two outings. Against Ireland, Kohli scored just 1 (5) while in the game against Pakistan, Kohli scored 4 (3).

This string of bad performances continued against the USA and he was out for a golden duck. It was an absolute jaffer from the USA prodigal talent Saurabh Netravalkar. This has been a strange set of performances for King Kohli who is coming on the back of a sensational IPL season.

Virat Kohli 🤦#INDvsUSA pic.twitter.com/E2OPyD9OdQ

— Gagan🇮🇳 (@1no_aalsi_) June 12, 2024

Kohli scored over 700 runs and was even awarded the Orange cap for his performances. Virat Kohli’s scratchy start has been a bone of contention for Team India. A shaky start at the top has sometimes exposed the glaring defects of a fragile middle order like in the match against Pakistan and the USA.

Fans: You should not play outside off deliveries initially

Virat Kohli: pic.twitter.com/aTzh3erz9L

— Sagar (@sagarcasm) June 12, 2024

“It doesn’t mean he is not batting….“- Gavaskar defends Kohli for his patchy form

However, amidst all the criticism received by experts and fans, former Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar has come out in support of King Kohli. According to Gavaskar, “When you get three low scores, it doesn’t mean he is not batting well. Sometimes you get good deliveries….” Gavaskar went on to add that as fans people should put their trust in their talismanic batsman when he has hit a rough patch.

Yuvraj Singh Said “In the nets, he (Virat Kohli) would always bat like he was batting in a match. He put that in repetition after repetition after repetition. I have not seen that in many players. I think that is the key to his success.” (ICC) pic.twitter.com/KhsC6EBgB1

— Nibraz Ramzan (@nibraz88cricket) June 12, 2024

Moreover, Gavaskar believes that there is plenty of cricket left in the T20 WC with the Super 8s, the semis and the finals (hopefully). For now, Kohli needs to be calm and show patience before the upcoming matches according to ‘little master’. 

India has already qualified for the Super 8s on the back of a resilient batting performance from Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube against the USA. On the other hand, the bowling was led by the talented left-hand batsman Arshdeep Singh. The Super 8 fixtures are yet to be declared.