Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said Virat Kohli will not worry about statistics in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. Pakistan skipper Babar Azam surpassed Kohli to become leading run-scorer in T20Is. Kohli who got out early against Ireland and Pakistan in the first two matches does not need to score big to surpass Babar and reclaim the top spot.
"I am not sure if he is checking all these records that Babar has gone ahead of him. But, one thing is sure. He must be itching to get big runs under his belt before he gets to the next round which will be played in the Caribbean," Harbhajan told Star Sports on June 12.
"There the matches will be played on better pitches. Virat Kohli, obviously, must be thinking how to get runs under his belt. Knowing the champion that he is, he will be doing all the hard work to get those runs for India. He will just focus on the first 10 balls. If he bats for 10 balls, then we know what Virat Kohli can do," he added.
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Babar ahead of Kohli and Rohit
Babar has 4,113 runs from 122 games at an average of 40.72 including three centuries and 36 fifties. Kohli and Rohit Sharma fell early in the run chase against USA. Kohli bagged a golden duck as he was dismissed by left-arm pacer Saurabh Netravalkar. Rohit scored three runs and became Netravalkar's second victim of the day. Kohli have 4,042 runs each in the format.
Balaji backs ‘hungry’ Kohli
Former India pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji feels Kohli would be hungry for runs after scoring just five runs in first two matches.
"I don't think he needs to prove anything to anybody. He must be thinking about the battle that he probably is having with himself. Virat is a modern-day great. He will be wanting to make a mark on this platform. Yes, Virat hasn't gotten off to a great start, but run-scoring has been difficult on this pitch," Balaji said.
Kohli's IPL form
Kohli was in stellar form in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 opening for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He won the Orange Cap with 741 runs from 15 games. He improved his strike rate as well which led to him replacing Yashasvi Jaiswal as opener.
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