Virat Kohli pushing himself to develop his game at this stage of his career is really impressive: Andy Flower

Virat Kohli had a dismal T20 World Cup 2024 campaign heading into the finals against South Africa. However, in the title clash, he brought his A-game to the fore, scoring a 59-ball 76 to orchestrate a seven-run win, which helped the Men in Blue lift the T20 World Cup for the second time.

India lost three key wickets inside the first five overs while batting first in the all-important final. However, Kohli used all his experience and stitched a couple of half-century partnerships with Axar Patel and Shivam Dube to help India set up a total of 176/7 in their 20 overs. After Rohit Sharma's men won the final, Kohli announced that it was his last T20I appearance for the national team.

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Ahead of the World Cup, Kohli had been in exceptional form during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. He amassed 741 runs in 15 matches at a remarkable strike rate of 154.70, his best in a particular IPL season. Prior to IPL 2024, a section of fans and experts questioned his intent in T20 cricket, especially through the middle overs. However, the legendary batter reinvented himself and silenced his critics with the bat, something he has done on various occasions during his illustrious career.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) head coach Andy Flower lauded the Delhi batter for his hunger to modify his batting template even after achieving so much success over the years.

“What a lovely way to go out of T20Is. He had a brilliant IPL, didn't he? He showed what he could do. I must say... I've said it before, but I'll repeat it because it's important. Watching a guy in his mid-30s who has done so much in the world game and in the IPL push himself to develop his game even further, at this stage of his career was really impressive,” Flower told ESPNcricinfo.

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“It showed the depth of his hunger and desire to do better, to push himself for his good and the good of his team. I loved watching that. I can't disagree with Sanjay (Manjrekar) that Tests and ODIs are his absolute sweet spots. But he has been a brilliant T20 cricketer, what an amazing man to watch play. Hopefully, we are going to see him do outstanding things in whatever T20 cricket he has got left," the former Zimbabwe cricketer added.