Former West Indies captain Chris Gayle praises Virat Kohli and claims Virat Kohli might dominate this World Cup with the home venue advantage.
Chris Gayle Praises Virat Kohli
ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 is scheduled to play from October 5 to November 19 in India across 10 different venues. It will be the first time the competition is held entirely in India; three previous editions were partially hosted there – 1987, 1996, and 2011.
Ahead of the tournament, BCCI decided to grant INR 50 crores for every ICC ODI World Cup 2023 stadium to upgrade the infrastructure. Earlier, ICC announced the World Cup 2023 rules and format for group and knock-out stage games.
India will definitely be under pressure to win the trophy while playing at their home. Apart from the pressure, Indian players will have the advantage of home conditions which might increase the probability of India’s victory in the World Cup 2023.
Though the players have the advantage of home venues, the player’s ability to grasp the opportunity is the key factor in the team’s victory.
Virat Kohli who plays the saviour role in many international matches now becomes a player with huge expectations. Many cricket experts and fans believe that Virat Kohli might quench India’s thirst for an ICC trophy by winning this World Cup.
West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle who shared the RCB dressing room with Virat backs him and says “Tough times don’t last long tough players last longer. Virat is tough mentally as well physically. I don’t see any reason why he shouldn’t go to this World Cup and dominate.
As players, we always go through phases where things seem a bit dull and you need positive energy around to uplift yourself. Once we get back in the groove, we know how dangerous we can be”.
“I know India have not won an ICC trophy in a long time and the same is the case with us (West Indies). We last won in 2016. Pressure will be on India as they play at home as favourites,” Gayle reckoned.
Virat Kohli who struggles to make a comeback from his lean patch faces many negative comments even from his own seniors. But Kohli who has a strong will found his mojo back by smashing a hundred against Bangladesh at Chattogram in December 2022.
Notably, this was his first century in 2 years. Kohli began the year with 113 runs against Sri Lanka and hits an unbeaten 166 against the islanders in Thiruvananthapuram. Kohli hit a fifty against Australia in India’s last ODI ahead of IPL 2023.
Kohli continued his sensational form in the IPL 2023 by scoring 639 runs in 14 matches for RCB which includes 2 hundreds.
Gayle, who last played international cricket in 2021, has no immediate plans to announce his retirement. He would continue to play in leagues around the world, both professional and veteran events.
“I don’t think there will be any international cricket from my point of view. After the World Cup (in 2021), I was supposed to have a farewell game. It did not happen. We have a new president in place, so I don’t see it happening. But I have not made an announcement as yet. I am still active but won’t be playing so often.”
Chris Gayle played his last international match for West Indies on November 6, 2021 against Australia at Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
