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Former India captain and maverick batter Virat Kohli is the only player in history to have bagged two player of the tournament awards in the T20 World Cup. The stylish-right-handed batter secured the prize in 2012 and 2016. Having said that, despite Kohli's monumental volume of runs, the Men in Blue failed to win the title. Now, as India is gearing up to begin their T20 World Cup campaign, all eyes are on Kohli once again, whose record in Australia and the ongoing multi-national tournament is outstanding.
However, former India captain and Kohli's long-time teammate, Gautam Gambhir doesn't read too much into the right-handed batter's record in the competition and rather believes that Kohli should play as per the situation demands. When quizzed about what should be Kohli's mindset heading into the T20 World Cup, Gambhir said that the star India batter should focus on scoring runs rather than breaking records.
"Go with the mindset of runs, what else can there be? The role of a batter is to make runs, the role of the bowler is to take wickets. Make runs that help your team. Not runs that just go in your record or add to your 500 or 100 tally. Make 40 or 30 but help your team reach 170-180. If you are chasing, bat in a manner where you can relieve the lower middle-order of pressure," Gambhir said on Star Sports ahead of India's first warm-up game vs Australia.
"In these tournaments, individuals have no value and should be left at home. If you are going to Australia, pack them in India. If you make 200 runs and your team wins the world cup that is your legacy. If you make 500 runs and the team does not qualify, those runs only go into your individual record. If the whole team is criticised, you will be part of it," he added.
The Men in Blue will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 23 (Sunday) at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Stadium (MCG).
