Virat Kohli’s final assignment as Team India’s T20I captain begins on Sunday at the T20 World Cup 2021 clash against Pakistan in Dubai. After having announced that he will step down from the captain’s post in the shortest format of the game, the 32-year-old will look to break the shackles once he enters into the tournament. Kohli’s resignation ahead of the mega ICC event was a shocker for the fans and the entire cricketing fraternity. The skipper cited workload management as the major reason behind his colossal decision. Experts suggest that giving up the leadership role would help him seek more balance in his batting.
However, the anticipation remains as to how India’s journey in this competition would turn out. It’s an interesting fact that Kohli will be the only captain to lead India just once in the T20 World Championships. So far, he has represented India in three editions and has shown gradual improvement in terms of scoring runs.
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In 2012, he played his first-ever T20 World Cup and scored 185 runs at an average of 46.25. In 2014, his stats just sky-rocketed as he amassed 319 runs in 6 games. And when the tournament was held on his home soil in 2016, Kohli may not have crossed the 300-run mark but played a massive role in guiding India to the semi-finals.
With a total of 777 runs to his name, Kohli remains India’s top-performer in the T20 World Championships. He’s got the highest overall average – 86.33 and has accounted for the joint-most number of half-centuries – 9 (along with Chris Gayle) – as well.
It’s a fact that by the end of this year, Kohli will have to fight for his contention in India’s T20 dressing room. But no one can also deny that the Delhi cricketer is an irreplaceable talent in the white-ball format unless he is out with injury.
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Under his leadership, India have won 27 matches in the shortest format and lost just 14. His captaincy record is indeed a badge of honour for the cricketer but when it comes to winning ICC titles, he is still striving for one. Twice in the past, India came closer to script history when led by Kohli but it turned out to be an unfortunate turn of events. In 2017, they lost to Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy finals. In the 2019 World Cup and 2021 WTC, defeats against New Zealand were heartbreakers.
But with another title up for the grabs, it’s time for Kohli’s teammates to put up such a show that no circumstances deny India a win. With mentor MS Dhoni in the dressing room, the destination looks utterly challenging but not impossible.
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