Virat Kohli affirms that World Cup selections won't be affected by IPL performances

As the Indian Premier League is knocking on the door, the real priority this year is the World Cup that starts on May 30. Many teams are actually considering able players of the T20 format for the World Cup spots, but that’s only limited to T20 International performances.

Most teams are in fact not permitting their players to take part in the IPL, as the tournament will end just prior to the commencement of the biggest ICC event. While there were several talks regarding the value of the performances in the IPL with respect to a spot in the World Cup, Indian captain Kohli has rubbished the speculation.

In fact, there were talks about IPL being the determining platform for making the choice between Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant for the second wicketkeeper’s slot. But India captain Virat Kohli has dismissed the suggestions stating that one IPL performance isn’t strong enough for a conclusive decision. “No, I don’t see the IPL having any influence on World Cup selection. I think that will be a very, very radical sort of analysis,” said Kohli on the eve of the 1st ODI.

“We need to have a solid team. Before we head into the IPL, we need to be absolutely clear of what team we want for the World Cup. I don’t see anything changing on how the IPL goes for any of the players. If one or two players do not have a good IPL season, it doesn’t mean that they are out of the picture for the World Cup. Those things are not going to matter.”

Kohli opens up on the remaining vacant spots for the World Cup

While at least 12 or 13 players have already cemented their spots for the World Cup, the case of the remaining few is still a conundrum. “We will have to think about the combinations. I don’t think playing a bowler less is a good idea because, with the extra fielder in till the 40th over, it becomes very difficult to sort of get a few guys to chip in with a few overs here and there.

We will have to work out the batting combination to try and give game-time to the guys we want to. But, I don’t see the bowling combination changing,” the Indian Captain said. While concluding, Kohli also stated the fact that KL Rahul has a very high chance of being incorporated into the World Cup squad.

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