T20 World Cup 2024: World Cup-winning former opener Kris Srikkanth said Virat Kohli can play the 2026 T20 World Cup, but the former captain will be keen on making the opportunity count in the USA and the West Indies.
Virat Kohli will be a key member of India's T20 World Cup squad (PTI Photo)
New Delhi,UPDATED: Jun 5, 2024 17:25 IST
Former India captain Kris Srikkanth said Virat Kohli is fit enough to continue until the 2026 T20 World Cup while taking up the former captain and skipper Rohit Sharma's hunger to win the trophy in the USA and the West Indies. India begin their World Cup campaign against Ireland at the Nassau County Cricket Ground in New York on Wednesday, June 5.
Kris Srikkanth, speaking on his YouTube show, highlighted that Virat Kohli hasn't won the T20 World Cup title yet and that the former captain will be determined to make it count. The World Cup-winning former opener heaped praise on Kohli's fitness while predicting his longevity.
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"Is this a last chance for them to win together as a team (with Rohit and Kohli), probably yes. Keep in mind, the 2026 T20 World Cup is in India. So everybody would like to play in India. As far as I am concerned, the kind of fitness Virat Kohli has, he can easily play until 2026. So 2026 could be Virat's last. For Virat Kohli, this is not the last chance. But he will be very keen because he has not won a T20 World Cup yet," Srikkanth said.
India have headed into the tournament, months after the heartbreaking ODI World Cup final defeat. Rohit and Kohli were expected to make way for younger stars in the T20I format. However, both of them returned to the T20I format earlier in the year during a series against Afghanistan.
'ROHIT WILL BE KEEN ON WINNING AS CAPTAIN'
Rohit Sharma confirmed that the senior had stayed away from T20Is last year to prepare for the ODI World Cup and that they were always in the mix. India tried out the likes of Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav as captains in their absence of Rohit Sharma, but the opener returned to lead the side.
Meanwhile, Srikkanth said Rohit, who won the title in 2007, will be keen on winning a major trophy with India and that he will more determined after the ODI World Cup heartbreak.
"Whereas Rohit Sharma has won it in 2007. He wanted the ODI World Cup very badly, but he missed it. He will now be looking at the T20 World Cup, thinking he should win it for India as a captain. As a captain, winning the World Cup is a big thing. That's why MS Dhoni is being spoken about so much. He has won all the major trophies. Rohit Sharma will be keen on winning for the team and for the country more than himself, that's what I am trying to say," Srikkanth added.
Published By:
Akshay Ramesh
Published On:
Jun 5, 2024
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