“You cannot decide and go that you will play like that only” – Sanjay Bangar on whether Virat Kohli will continue to bat aggressively in T20 World Cup

Former Indian all-rounder Sanjay Bangar has shed light on Virat Kohli’s batting style for the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. Bangar said Kohli can’t decide and try to play in an aggressive manner. Over the years, Kohli has played an anchor role in T20Is and he is going to hold the key for the Indian team in the T20I showpiece.

As the pitches in the West Indies and the USA are on the slow side, it would be prudent for Kohli to take his time at the start of his innings. The New York pitch isn’t easy for run-scoring and the batters are having a tough time in playing the big shots.

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli scored 741 runs in 15 innings at an average of 61.75 and a strike rate of 154.69 in IPL 2024. Kohli ended the tournament as the highest run-getter and bagged the Orange Cap award. Thus, he played an instrumental role in taking RCB to the playoffs.

“You cannot decide and go that you will play like that only because when you play for a long time for any team, obviously, you have the responsibility to win matches. So whichever way he plays, playing shots or in his own fashion, his focus will be more on winning matches,” Sanjay Bangar said on Star Sports show Game Plan.

Bangar backed Kohli to once again deliver in the T20 World Cup, like he has done in the past.

“The way he has performed in T20 World Cups or any World Cup, he has raised his game a lot. So I have full belief that he will touch new heights in this World Cup,” Bangar stated.

Kohli has amassed 1125 runs in 25 innings at an unbelievable average of 81.50 in T20 World Cups.

On the other hand, former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh lauded Virat Kohli for once again using the slog sweep against the spinners to score quickly.

“The strike rate that is spoken about, probably it was because when the spinners used to come, he wasn’t hitting as many sixes as others hit. However, if you see in the IPL this year, he has hit the most sixes. He has started kneeling and playing the shot towards mid-wicket once again. He used to play that shot if I talk about his initial days,” he elaborated.

“He stopped doing that after that, he started stepping out a lot and tried to play straight, but the cross-batted shot and the new approach we have seen, which used to be there earlier, has further enhanced and improved his game in this format. He is not playing the reverse sweep as of now. We might get to see that as well,” Harbhajan observed.

India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Ireland on June 5th.