Former Indian cricketer and BCCI chief selector MSK Prasad agreed with the comment of many of his former colleagues that Virat Kohli is imperative for the Indian team in this T20 World Cup. Prasad’s comments came in light of reports suggesting that the current selection committee wants to overlook Kohli for the World T20 in June as his game may not suit the conditions on offer in the US. And the West Indies.
While speaking to the official IPL broadcasters recently, MSK Prasad stated that Virat Kohli, regardless of his form, has to be in that Indian team if they want to end their ICC trophy drought. The Indian batting stalwart has been the Men in Blue’s leading run-scorer in the last two ICC events – the T20 World Cup in 2022 and the Cricket World Cup last year.
Prasad says it will be violation to judge Virat Kohli’s form in IPL
The best point that MSK Prasad made about Virat Kohli was that it will be a complete violation if the selectors judge the latter on his form in IPL 2024, where he will make his competitive comeback. The 36-year-old has been out of action since January 2024 and missed the entire five-match home Test series against England from January to March.
Virat Kohli was on paternity leave due to the birth of his second child with Anushka Sharma. The duo welcomed their baby in February and for that reason alone, the former India captain had sought permission to stay out of the Test series.
He will make his comeback through this year’s IPL and everyone, including the selectors, will keep an eye on his form for the 2 months before sitting down to announce the squad for the T20 WC. In this regard, Prasad stated that Virat Kohli has never been out of the Indian team due to his form and that IPL 2024 alone cannot decide how worthy he is. Prasad also backed the RCB batsman to have a run-filled IPL 2024 season.
“Kohli is crucial for India in the T20 World Cup. The selectors cannot think of the IPL as a place for him to showcase his quality. He was never out of the team because of his form. He missed the India matches due to family reasons. He has been in shape for a long time. He will also run in this IPL,” Prasad said via Star Sports.
Complete RCB squad for IPL 2024 and complete schedule for first 21 matches
Faf du Plessis (C), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh, Saurav Chauhan
Match Date Team 1 Team 2 Venue/Stadium 1 March 22 Chennai Super Kings Royal Challengers Bangalore Chennai 2 March 23 Punjab Kings Delhi Capitals Mohali 3 March 23 Kolkata Knight Riders Sunrisers Hyderabad Kolkata 4 March 24 Rajasthan Royals Lucknow Super Giants Jaipur 5 March 24 Gujarat Titans Mumbai Indians Ahmedabad March 6 25 Royal Challengers Bangalore Punjab Kings Bengaluru March 7 26 Chennai Super Kings Gujarat Titans Chennai 8 March 27 Sunrisers Hyderabad Mumbai Indians Hyderabad 9 March 28 Rajasthan Royals Capitals Delhi Jaipur 10 March 29 Royal Challengers Bangalore Kolkata Knight Riders Bengaluru 11 March 30 Lucknow Super Giants Punjab Kings Lucknow 12 March 31 Gujarat Titans Sunrisers Hyderabad Ahmedabad March 13 31 Delhi Capitals Chennai Super Kings Visakhapatnam 14 April 1 Mumbai Indians Rajasthan Royals Mumbai April 15 2 Royal Challengers Bangalore Lucknow Super Giants Bengaluru April 16 3 Delhi Capitals Kolkata Knight Riders Visakhapatnam 17 April 4 Gujarat Titans Punjab Kings Ahmedabad 18 April 5 Sunrisers Hyderabad Chennai Super Kings Hyderabad 19 April 6 Rajasthan Royals Royal Challengers Bangalore Jaipur April 20 7 Mumbai Indians Delhi Capitals Mumbai 21 April 7 Lucknow Super Giants Gujarat Titans Lucknow