Virat Kohli will participate in his fourth ODI World Cup as Team India aims to end a decade-long drought for an ICC trophy. Kohli, who made his World Cup debut in 2011, was a member of the victorious side led by MS Dhoni that lifted the trophy in Mumbai by defeating Sri Lanka. Despite facing difficulties, Kohli has displayed exceptional form this year in ODIs, scoring five centuries and becoming the fastest batsman to reach 13,000 runs in the format. Just two centuries shy of his idol Sachin Tendulkar’s all-time record of 49, Kohli aims to lead India’s charge at the World Cup.
Reflecting on his challenging phase, Kohli acknowledged that the past few years have been a significant learning experience for him. He mentioned how he has moved beyond his previous angry celebrations, received numerous suggestions and advice, and worked on analyzing the videos from his best performances. Kohli attributed his struggles to the mental aspect of the game and his difficulty in communicating it to others.
With the inclusion of veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin as a replacement for Axar Patel in India’s squad, Kohli becomes the second player from the class of 12 years ago to be a part of this year’s World Cup team.
India’s World Cup squad consists of Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar Yadav.