"I hope India don't pick him"- Glenn Maxwell jokes about Virat Kohli's T20 World Cup chances amidst IPL 2024
Veteran Australian all-rounder and Virat Kohli's teammate at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Glenn Maxwell, believes he hasn't seen a bigger match-winner as an opponent than the legendary Indian batter.
Maxwell recalled Kohli's incredible knock of 82* against Australia during the 2016 T20 World Cup which was a virtual knockout game for India. He was just in awe of some of the shots that the Indian star played that evening and cheekily mentioned that he would love it if India did not pick Kohli for the T20 World Cup 2024.
Speaking to ESPN, here's what Glenn Maxwell had to say about Virat Kohli:
"Virat Kohli is the most clutch player I have ever played against. The innings he played against us in Mohali during the 2016 T20 World Cup is still the best innings I have ever seen been played against me. His awareness of what he needs to do to win the game is just phenomenal. I hope India don't pick him because it will be great to not come up against him."
Kohli has been on fire in the IPL 2024 season so far with 316 runs from five games. He sits comfortably at the top of the Orange Cap list.
Glenn Maxwell on the heat around Virat Kohli's T20 World Cup berth
Before the start of IPL 2024, there have were several reports floating around about whether Virat Kohli would even be picked for the T20 World Cup because of his strike rate. While many rubbished these claims, Glenn Maxwell tried to understand the rationale behind it as he understands the pressure that every Indian player faces.
On this, Maxwell opined:
"It's not surprising because there are 1.5 billion and I reckon half of them are unbelievable cricketers in this country (laughs). It's a hard team to get into. You look at India's top T20 players which are all playing in this tournament. They are phenomenal players and there should be heat on every player."
Having already won the ODI World Cup in 2011 and the Champions Trophy in 2013, the T20 World Cup remains the only white-ball ICC Trophy that has eluded Kohli so far in his career. He has won the Player of the Tournament in two back-to-back editions of the T20 World Cup in 2014 and 2016