T20 World Cup 2024: “Old Virat Kohli would have been much better” – Sanjay Manjrekar to adopt cautious approach

Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar wants Virat Kohli to adopt a cautious approach in challenging T20 World Cup conditions. India has played its first two matches of the T20I showpiece in New York, where the run-scoring has been challenging. 

While Kohli was dismissed after scoring a solitary run against Ireland, he could only manage four runs against arch-rivals Pakistan. Kohli’s strength has been always to play an anchor role in T20Is but he has lifted his game as well as his strike rate in the recent past.

Virat Kohli was once again at his absolute best for RCB, scoring 741 runs in 15 innings at an average of 61.75 and a strike rate of 154.69 in IPL 2024. He ended as the leading run-getter of the tournament and played a key role in taking the franchise to the playoffs.

“The problem with Virat Kohli is that there has been a lot of talk about his strike rate over the last two years, and he completely changed that during this IPL season. His strike rate had reached 150, although others had almost 200, but that is a different topic. He probably must have come to the T20 World Cup with that same mindset, but given the pitches, the old Virat Kohli would have been much better,” said Manjrekar on ESPN Cricinfo.

“So, I feel someone should tell him to bring back that earlier version of himself and then change again when the pitches become flat.”

Kohli is known to score his runs in singles and doubles and his previous avatar is a good option for these challenging conditions.

Meanwhile, Manjrekar tipped Jasprit Bumrah as India’s best player. Bumrah returned with impressive figures of 3-14 against Pakistan and played a huge role in keeping the opposition to 113-7 in the run-chase of 120.

Manjrekar wrote on his X account, “While Indian media obsesses over Virat & Co, Jasprit Bumrah quietly wins games for India single-handedly. By far the best player in the Indian team & has been for a while now.”

India will next take on the USA at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York on Wednesday.