'Outside noise' has made Virat Kohli a better T20 batter, says former India player
Former India skipper Virat Kohli has silenced his critics with his stellar performance in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL 2024) season. Kohli finished as the Orange Cap leader, amassing 741 runs at an impressive average of 61.75 while striking the ball at a high rate of 154.70.
However, prior to the season, Kohli was under heavy criticism for his performance in the shortest format and multiple reports suggested that he might not earn a place in India's T20 World Cup 2024 squad.
Kohli has not remained silent and has been vocal in hitting back at the comments while his batting helped his cause.
'Outside noise' has made Virat Kohli better: Sanjay Manjrekar
Echoing on the same lines, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar opined that the 'outside noise' has on the contrary helped Virat Kohli perform better.
In his column for Hindustan Times, Manjrekar wrote, "Rohit and Virat will not commit the same mistakes made in that semis (2022 vs England). It’s worth acknowledging that Virat is not the same T20 player he was two years ago. He must know deep down, surely, that the ‘outside noise’ has actually made him a better T20 batter today than he was two years ago."
Manjrekar wants the veteran batter to play fearlessly and not focus on batting for long as he believes it will be crucial for India to get quick runs.
Kohli has yet to travel for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 and did not travel with the first batch of Indian players due to pending paperwork. The dynamic India batter is expected to leave for the marquee event by May 30 latest.
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