There is no understating of the year that Virat Kohli had with the bat in 2023. The talisman batter notched 765 runs and three centuries under his name in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, as he finished as the leading run-scorer of the tournament, and broke records galore as he surpassed the great Sachin Tendulkar for the most ODI centuries scored.
Countless spectators and players alike were left mesmerized by the enigmatic batter, and one amongst the same was none other than Former England international Nasser Hussain, who expects the 35-year-old to continue his crackling form and have yet another illustrious year with the bat in 2024.
“Obviously, he had a fantastic 2023 and World Cup. Amid all the records he broke and the attention, we did not focus on how well he was batting. Technically, I have never seen Virat bat as well like that. The sound of the bat, that innings against Sri Lanka in Mumbai, I can name about five innings where he was getting in a good position.
“That is a good sign for Virat, India and Virat fans. It means that he is in a good mental space and his game is in good order,” said Hussain in a video released by ICC.
But Kohli is not the only one Hussain expects the most out of in the upcoming year. Pakistan’s Babar Azam is yet another superstar that Hussain believes will step up to the plate and dominate in the upcoming year.
Babar had had a tumultuous end to the year after failing to perform in the ICC ODI World Cup following which he relinquished his captaincy of the Men in Green.
But despite it all, Hussain is a firm believer that Babar will be one of the biggest factors behind any success that Pakistan would want to attain in the upcoming year, especially as the T20 World Cup nears as well.
“Another one, they are often compared. Babar Azam. I think it is a massive year for him and Pakistan. He has given up captaincy, that may be the weight off his shoulders. The biggest thing he can do for Pakistan cricket is get shed load of runs. They need him to get runs. There will be a T20 World Cup in the Caribbean. They got to the finals last time. They will need their ex-skipper to put in a real performance,” the 55-year-old former England international said.
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