T20 World Cup: Dinesh Karthik comes out in support of Virat Kohli amidst poor run with bat

Virat Kohli came into the T20 World Cup on the back of his stellar run with the bat in the IPL 2024 season. The 35-year-old had scored over 700 runs while opening the batting for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. This prompted the Indian team to ask the former Indian skipper to open with Rohit Sharma. 

Former India and RCB teammate of Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik has thrown his weight behind the Indian star. The 39-year-old was chatting on CRICBUZZ when he was asked to comment on Virat Kohli’s form. 

Dinesh Karthik who was part of the RCB dugout with Virat Kohli just a month ago said “Rohit just got a 50 in first match. How much can he score on these pitches? Team itself is only scoring 100. Don't worry about Virat Kohli. He will score when it matters”

Dinesh Karthik lavishes praise on Virat Kohli

Indian fans have been left concerned with the way Virat Kohli has performed with the bat so far. The former Indian skipper has scored just 5 runs from 3 matches while opening the batting. Saurabh Netravalkar had dismissed Kohli for a first ball duck in the previous India vs USA game. 

The match against Canada will provide Virat Kohli one final chance to prove to the team management as an opener. Dinesh Karthik, though feels that the current patch of bad form is just a phase that Virat Kohli is going through. 

Karthik said on CRICBUZZ “He is never not performed in the World Cup, and there is no doubt about this World Cup too. He will 100 per cent perform. Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Virat Kohli will be there. We have qualified for the Super Eight. I promise you, he will be all guns blazing once we reach the Caribbean”

Pakistan were officially knocked out of the tournament along with Ireland and Canada on Friday. The game between co-hosts United States of America and Ireland didn’t get going due to damp outfield which the match officials deemed unsatisfactory. 

The abandoned game gave USA one point which took them to 5 points from 4 games. It was good news for the Monank Patel led side as they not only qualified for the Super-8 stages but also the 2026 T20 World Cup to be held in India and Sri Lanka.