Sidhu Picks Virat Kohli as Key Game-Changer for India-Pakistan Clash

Ahead of the much-awaited clash between India and Pakistan, former opener Navjot Singh Sidhu identified former skipper Virat Kohli as the game-changer for the Sunday play-off between the arch-rivals. India will face Pakistan in their upcoming match in the T20 World Cup 2024 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.

The Men in Blue are coming into this match after an 8-wicket victory against Ireland. Meanwhile, Babar Azam-led Pakistan conceded a disappointing loss against the USA in the super-over in their previous game of the marquee event. A victory against their rivals is crucial for Babar Azam’s team to regain momentum in the tournament.

Speaking at a special ‘Star Sports Press Room’ event in New York ahead of the highly anticipated India-Pakistan match in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, Sidhu shared his views on the difference between the two teams, highlighting Virat Kohli.

“See, game changers are those who will score 2 runs in a ball. You are talking about strike rates, 1.5, 1.7, but some people are scoring 2.5 runs, three runs per ball. The innings of Romario Shepherd, 10 balls, 30, right. There are some people who in the end will come and score in 10 balls, a 35. Now that is the quality. That 35 in ten balls, if two people score and support someone like Virat Kohli, is a game-changer. Make no mistake about it,” Sidhu was quoted in a release from Star Sports as saying.

Notably, Kohli, with 741 runs from 15 matches, won the Orange Cap in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 and became just the third cricketer to win the Orange Cap award for the second time in his career.

“I’ve been saying this, you look at the IPL and you look at the T20 format, those who can score a 2.5 per ball or above two per ball are the real game changers. There are so many of them. There is Ravindra Jadeja, there is Shivam Dube and even Axar Patel also scores runs at the same pace. Why is Dhoni such a great finisher, because his strike rate is 2.5, his strike rate at times is 4 per ball. That is the real game-changing effect in the game of cricket in T-20. It’s a different skill altogether, the skill to clear the ground,” Sidhu added.

India T20 WC Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

Pakistan T20 WC Squad: Babar Azam (C), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan.