Veteran India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin believes that Virat Kohli’s confidence won’t be less if the team management demotes him to the No. 3 spot in the batting order for the Super 8 phase of the 2024 T20 World Cup as well. However, Virat Kohli opened the innings in the group stage, and registered scores of 1,4 and 0 as well.
Speaking about the his mindset, the veteran offspinner stated on his YouTube channel: “There is no chance for a player like Virat Kohli to damage his confidence. He will say, ‘you brought me down to number 3, I will show you who I am.’. That’s how he will bat, first of all. I am saying this because I know him.”
In the same video, former cricketer Robin Uthappa also opined that Kohli’s body language has looked very confident despite the recent failures.
He added, “Virat Kohli’s physiology, after the previous match, I saw a glimpse of it. Maybe five eseconds. Him interacting with some of the players and talking to the support staff. When you see his physiology, you can tell that man is exuding supreme confidence. And that comes from a place of knowing about his own game and the confidence in his own ability. So, he knows that this is just a blip in the radar.”
He further added: “It’s not a matter of if he will score runs in the T20 World Cup. For me, it’s about when he is going to run. And the West Indian conditions, I think, because it’s even more familiar for him. He will feel even more confident about scoring runs there. And he has scored runs there by the buckets in the past. So, I have a feeling that he will come through in the Super 8s. And it will give the Indian team an opportunity to bring in someone like Kuldeep Yadav at some point.”
While Virat Kohli is yet to step up with the bat at the 2024 T20 World Cup, he looked in good touch at this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL 2024). He was the Orange Cap winner, smashing 741 runs in 15 innings.
“Can they beat India? Can they beat India? I think anyone can beat anyone in a T20 game. Having said that, if you go man-to-man, no chance. There is no chance that Afghanistan stands a chance even man-to-man. Well, I think, they are a very good side. They just got pummeled by West Indies. So, they have got that one law of averages defeat already. I think they can be a dangerous side in the Super 8s. I think they will win a few games,” he concluded.
