Legendary batter Brian Lara has come to the defense of Virat Kohli, who has faced criticism despite his impressive performance in the recently-concluded ODI World Cup 2023. Despite leading India to the World Cup final, where they narrowly lost to Australia, Kohli has been criticised for his strike rate. Some have even said that his runs don't matter because India didn't win the tournament. Lara, however, believes that Kohli's critics are unfair and that he should be praised for his achievements. Lara pointed out that Kohli broke Sachin Tendulkar's record for the most runs in a single edition of the World Cup and became the first player to score over 700 runs in the tournament. In a total of 11 matches, Kohli amassed 765 runs at an average of more than 95 and a strike rate of 90.
“This (ODI) World Cup was a joy to watch. First of all, for Virat Kohli… I know a lot of people will say or have already said that it (Kohli’s performance) does not matter as India did not win the World Cup,” Brian Lara said during his speech at The Bhawanipur Education Society College.
“Team sport is about winning and you, as an individual player, have to have that as your No.1 target. But a subsidiary of team success is individual success, and that is what Kohli has given India match after match throughout the World Cup.
“Now, that did not impress me because the man is capable of much more. (But) what impresses me most about Kohli is his true legacy… For, he has changed the face of cricket and how you prepare for the game. The discipline that he has stands out, always,” the 54-year-old concluded.
Virat Kohli is slated to return to the cricket field later this month as India prepares to face South Africa in a two-match Test series. The opening Test is scheduled to commence on December 26.
Notably Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma won’t be traveling for the white-ball series against South Africa as they requested for rest from the board. However Kohli along with Rohit are slated to return to the cricket field later this month as India prepare to face South Africa in a two-match Test series. The opening Test is scheduled to commence on December 26.
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