Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan has hailed Virat Kohli as the “control room of Indian cricket.” The former cricketer’s comments came after Virat Kohli’s stellar performance in the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup 2024 final.
India’s batting superstar was going through a tough campaign in the competition. From the first game to the semi-final, Virat Kohli had managed to score just 75 runs in 7 games, including two draws. As nothing went right for him in the competition, there were also calls for him to be dropped from the team as critics called him the weak link.
However, the former India captain once again proved his worth in the final with a Man of the Match performance. He came back into form just when the team needed his services the most. Batting first, India were trailing by 34 in 3 of the first 5 overs with the likes of Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav back on the pitch.
However, Virat Kohli stood firm at one end and played a brilliant knock of 76 runs to take India to a competitive total of 176/7. The scoreline turned out to be a winning one as India restricted South Africa to 169/8 and won the game by 7 runs.
Kohli has once again delivered his best on the big stage and Irfan Pathan has hailed him as the Indian team player who controls the important matches. The former cricketer turned commentator claimed that Kohli has been India’s go-to man in crucial matches.
Irfan Pathan names India’s control room:
“Virat Kohli is the control centre of Indian cricket. He controls the big moments, the big matches, the big stages of Indian cricket.” said Irfan Pathan while speaking on Star Sports.
A legendary career for Virat Kohli:
After the World Cup triumph, Virat Kohli announced his retirement from T20Is. At the post-match presentation ceremony, while receiving the Man of the Match award, the veteran batsman confirmed that the match against South Africa was his last T20I for Team India.
The monumental World Cup win was a perfect end to Virat Kohli’s illustrious T20I career. The right-handed batsman retired from the format as one of the most decorated batsmen of all time. Only Rohit Sharma has scored more runs than him in T20Is. In the T20 World Cup, Virat Kohli is the all-time leading run-scorer.
