Henry Nicholls chats about Kohli's importance, Indian players to look out for in T20 World Cup 2024

In an exclusive interview with The Times of India, New Zealander Henry Nicholls, spoke about the importance of Virat Kohli's presence in the 2024 T20 World Cup roster for India, as well as the two Indian players who could play a vital role in the Indian team's campaign in the aforementioned tournament. 

Nicholls was a part of the New Zealand squad which came excruciatingly close to a maiden ICC World Cup triumph, losing out in agonizing fashion by going down in the Super Over on the basis of boundary count. The southpaw was the highest run-getter for the Kiwis in the final, scoring a composed 55 off 77.

On being asked about the importance of legendary batter Virat Kohli's role in the Indian team for the upcoming T20 World Cup, like anyone else, he professed Kohli to be one of the stalwarts of cricket for an enduring period till now. Nicholls deemed himself fortunate to have played against such a tenacious adversary. He recognized Kohli's top-notch form in IPL 2024 and remarked that whenever Kohli has led the charge, the Indian team has always looked like a vicious juggernaut to reckon with, remarking that Kohli's inclusion in his nation's setup would only bolster India's chances at the mega event.

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"Virat Kohli has been one of the greats of our game for a long time. I consider myself lucky to have played against him and know how much of a competitor he is. So, I see his form at the moment in the IPL as well, scoring a lot of runs. Anytime he is playing well and, you know, leading from the front with the bat, that makes India even more of a dangerous team than they always are," stated Nicholls in an exclusive interview with The Times of India.

On being questioned about his two picks to be an imperative component of the Indian machinery at the T20 World Cup 2024, Nicholls picked another left-hander, Rishabh Pant, adding that while he was unsure whether Pant would be fit enough to be included in the 15-member squad for the 20-over World Cup, he was mighty well sure of how lethal he could be on his day. Shubman Gill was the second contender for Nicholls, with the latter commending the former's class and prowess with the bat to no extent. Nicholls also recalled seeing Gill dominate against his own country in front of his own eyes and scoring a scintillating double-ton in an ODI in 2023, also lauding the way he's performed in the past 12 months.

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"I've got a few options to go through in players, but I think, I'm not sure on the status of Rishabh Pant, but he's somewhat available now. I mean, that'd be just an awesome story for him. I'm not sure if he'll be able to make the World Cup squad, but I know when he's playing, he's just an amazing player and he's so dangerous. So, it'd be an awesome story for him if he was at the T20 World Cup and then obviously, Shubman Gill. The way he's played, you know, in the last 12 months, I've seen it first-hand in India, got a double-hundred against us in a One-Day game. So, in the T20s, he's a classy batter and very destructive as well," Nicholls concluded.