Virat Kohli will deliver in WTC Final 2023: Former BCCI selector makes bold claim on India great

India will be hoping to lift their first ICC trophy in a decade as they prepare for the one-off Test match. A few players including India’s batting stalwart Virat Kohli has already reached London and has joined the preparations with other members such as Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav and others.

And ahead of the WTC Final, former BCCI chief selector MSK Prasad has tipped Virat Kohli to deliver for India despite his struggle in the last two years.

“He did not have a very great 2021-22. But that is because we expect a lot from him. He has set a very high standard for himself. He has to score hundreds in every match, otherwise, it is a failure. But he is a human after all,” Prasad told ANI.

MSK Prasad also believes captaincy pressure took a toll on Kohli, but he has redeemed himself since the Asia Cup last year.

The captaincy pressure had him struggling for a while, but once he regained his rhythm and clarity, he did not look back. He has been in amazing form since last year’s Asia Cup, and has made centuries in all formats,” he added.

Kohli was the captain of India when they played WTC Final in 2021. The Indian team then suffered a defeat against New Zealand and the former selector believes the batter will have that in his mind, which can exert the best out of him.

“He must be having in his mind that India has not won an ICC tournament for years and must be fired up to give his best to help India win. With his form, state of mind in a good place and his seniority being above 100 Tests, I am sure he will deliver in the WTC final,” Prasad concluded.

Kohli has been in immense touch since regaining his form in Asia Cup last year. The Indian batter was the highest scorer for the team in the T20I World Cup last year. And he has continued that in 2023 as well.

Kohli started 2023 with a century against Sri Lanka in ODIs. He also had a decent Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, scoring 297 runs at an average of 49.5.

The 34-year-old has been immense for his IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore as well. He amassed 639 runs for RCB this season at an average of 53.25 with 2 centuries. Although RCB failed to make it to the playoffs, it was yet another stellar batting display by the former India captain.

India’s squad for WTC Final 2023: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Kishan (wk)

India stand-by Players: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mukesh Kumar and Suryakumar Yadav