T20 World Cup 2022: "The fight he has fought in the last two years has made Virat Kohli even better" - Irfan Pathan

Irfan Pathan feels Virat Kohli's comeback after an indifferent run over the last two years has made the former Indian skipper an even better player.

Kohli scored an unbeaten 64 off 44 deliveries in India's T20 World Cup 2022 Group 2 Super 12 clash against Bangladesh in Adelaide on Wednesday, November 2. His knock helped the Men in Blue post a total of 184/6 and they went on to win the match by five runs via the DLS method.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Pathan was all praise for Kohli for making a marvelous comeback. He said:

"It is not easy to score consistent runs in any format - Test cricket, ODIs or T20Is, he has an average above 50 in all formats. The fight he has fought in the last two years has made Virat Kohli even better."

The former India all-rounder pointed out that the modern batting great can play multiple roles with ease. He explained:

"Virat Kohli is the type of batter who can play any role. If he has to play carefully to save his wicket, he can do that, and once he gets set, he can also play the attacking role. If such a batter is in form, he becomes even more dangerous for the opposition team."

Kohli was content playing second fiddle to KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav in Wednesday's game. He took over the aggressor's role once the latter was dismissed in the 14th over of the Indian innings.

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"Playing big shots right at the start was never his style" - Irfan Pathan on Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli prefers to get his eye in before playing the big shots.

Pathan was asked about the efficiency of Kohli's old formula, especially in Australian conditions. He responded:

"It is going to be there, it is his style. You reach that great status in your own style. His push-and-run style is his greatest aspect. Playing big shots right at the start was never his style. When he adopted that, he had difficulties."

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Kohli returning to his tried-and-tested methods has yielded him rich dividends. He observed:

"Now he has come back to his old formula, he is concentrating on running between the wickets, trying to make his innings long, and the strike rate becomes even better as his innings progresses."

Kohli was chosen as the Player of the Match for his knock against Bangladesh. It was his third half-century in the ongoing edition of the T20 World Cup and also helped him become the highest run-getter in the tournament's history.