NEW DELHI: The cricketing world received a major shock last week following the emergence of a report suggesting that
Virat Kohli
could be dropped from India's
T20 World Cup
squad.
There was a widespread clamour from former players and cricket experts who threw their weight behind Kohli's inclusion in the squad. Star Australian batter Steve Smith also expressed his belief that India require a player of Kohli's caliber, particularly in high-pressure situations during the World Cup.
"He plays the situation. Some wickets you play on, your strike rate doesn't need to be high. You play according to what's in front of you. We have seen Virat play some masterclass innings and get his team over the line, whether it has been RCB or India. I've been on the opposition in the Australian team when he has done this against us on numerous occasions," Smith told Star Sports.
"What we know is that he plays extremely well under pressure. He loves that. It's those players who you want in your team when you go into the World Cup and face pressure situations. You want the experienced players who stand up in those situations, and Virat is certainly one of those," said the Australian batter further.
Set to be jointly hosted by the West Indies and the USA, the T20 World Cup will be held from June 2 to 29.
The Indian team will be led by
Rohit Sharma
, as confirmed by the BCCI secretary Jay Shah earlier this month. However, the inclusion of Kohli for the tournament is not certain, according to a report published in 'The Telegraph'.
Kohli, who will be back in action in the IPL 2024 after having missed the Test series against England due to personal reasons, said he would bank on his skill sets and experience to translate the dream of winning the IPL trophy into reality this year.
"That's a dream of mine to know what it feels like winning an IPL trophy. I will be here, be a part of the team that wins the trophy for the first time.
"I will try my very best with my abilities, my experience to be able to do that for the fans and the franchise," said the former captain of RCB.
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