The leading West Indies commentator believes India's modern-day batting legend is in for a bumper World Cup campaign with the bat.
Ian Bishop reckons Virat Kohli will be the man to stand up under pressure once again when India enter the 2023 World Cup in front of billion home fans in October-November. The former West Indies quick and leading commentator lauded the modern-day Indian stalwart, calling him the “man with a sense of occasion”.
Bishop based his assessment and prediction of Kohli rising up to the World Cup challenge on his fruitful campaign with the bat at the last year’s men’s T20 World Cup in Australia when he overcome sustained strife to emerge as the top run-getter of the tournament.
Calling him the “master” of the 50-overs format, the Caribbean giant backed the former India skipper and batting legend to dominate the bowling in what could well be his last edition of the quadrennial event aged 34.
The post-pandemic struggles may have robbed Kohli of his invincible image but the last few months have inspired a sense of optimism of him finding the second wing to his illustrious career. Flourishing at the previous T20 World Cup aside, Kohli has struck two centuries apiece in the Test and the ODI format in the past season and also had a decent IPL 2023 for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
He batted with great composure and patience during the recent Test series in the West Indies, which Bishop watched closely from the commentary box and found signs of Kohli gradually regaining his best mojo.
Also Read – ‘No space in the main team’ – Gaikwad opens up on ‘mixed feeling’ after Dublin fifty
“I hope so,” Bishop said when asked whether Kohli can reattain the dominance over oppositions at the coming World Cup on ‘Backstage with Boria’. “He was one of the guys that stood up at that T20 World Cup back in 2022.”
“And he is a man with a sense of occasion, a master of the white-ball and particularly the 50-over format. So I think he will be very aware of the magnitude of the type of contest we have and the history around it.”
Bishop also had a word on Rohit Sharma’s captaincy and said the World Cup will be a “legacy” defining assignment for the Indian skipper, who has been a pillar of great success in the One-Day game over the past decade with the bat and was the top-scorer of the 2019 World Cup in the UK.
