Virat Kohli must be fired up to give his best for India in WTC final: MSK Prasad

With all the buzz slowly shifting from Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 to World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final, fans are expecting an exciting clas between the two cricketing giants as India will be taking on Australia from June 7 at The Oval in London. The world’s top ranked Test side, India will be looking to end their woes of not winning a single ICC event since 2013.

The inaugural WTC runners-up India have a few concerns heading into the finale as speedster Jasprit Bumrah, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer will be missing the all-important Test. But the fans and Indian supporters will be elated by the fact that Virat Kohli is coming from a brilliant run in IPL 2023.

The elegant Indian batter was in extraordinary form in IPL 2023, scoring 639 runs in 14 games with an impressive strike rate of 139.82 and an astonishing average of 53.25. Meanwhile, former chief selector MSK Prasad has predicted that Kohli will definitely deliver for the team in the important clash. 

Prasad said that the years 2021-22 were not ideal for the former Indian skipper. But that is only because everyone had high expectations from him. Though Kohli struggled for a while there has been looking back for him once he got back his form.

Since the Asia Cup last year, Kohli has been in sublime form and has scored centuries across all formats, incluidng the IPL. Prasad even said that the fact that India haven’t won an ICC tournament for years will raise a fire inside Kohli mind and he would be eager to deliver this time around for India.

“He did not have a very great 2021-22. But that is because we expect a lot from him. He has set a very high standard for himself. He has to score hundreds in every match, otherwise, it is a failure. But he is a human after all. The captaincy pressure had him struggling for a while, but once he regained his rhythm and clarity, he did not look back. He has been in amazing form since last year’s Asia Cup, and has made centuries in all formats," Prasad was quoted by Hindustan Times.

"He must be having in his mind that India has not won an ICC tournament for years and must be fired up to give his best to help India win. With his form, state of mind in a good place and his seniority being above 100 Tests, I am sure he will deliver in the WTC final," Prasad added.