‘If Virat goes on to…’: Harbhajan Singh drops early ‘Kohli’ prediction

With MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings (CSK) set to cross swords with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 opener, legendary cricketer Harbhajan Singh has shared an early prediction about superstar Virat Kohli. Former RCB skipper Kohli will aim to make his return to competitive cricket in the upcoming edition of the IPL. The 35-year-old missed the entire Test series between India and England due to personal reasons.
Former RCB skipper Kohli had a run-fest season for the Bangalore giants in the previous edition of the cash-rich league. Run-machine Kohli smashed 639 runs in 14 games at the IPL 2024. His run tally was only bettered by skipper Faf du Plessis at RCB in the IPL last year. Overall, Kohli is the all-time leading run-getter in the history of the world’s richest T20 league. Despite being an all-time great, Kohli has somewhat struggled against Dhoni’s CSK at the Chepauk.
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Kohli only averages just 30 and the RCB icon has a strike-rate of 111 at the famous venue. Speaking to Star Sports prior to the start of the IPL 2024, former CSK spinner Harbhajan opined that Kohli will have to repeat his 2016 heroics for the Bangalore heavyweights next season. Shattering multiple records for RCB, Kohli propelled Bangalore to the final in the 2016 season.
“Well, it’s important for him to have a season like 2016, because if Virat Kohli goes on to score runs for them, it means the team will go forward. But I don’t know if they go on to win the cup or not, but with the brilliant individuals they have in their team—Virat Kohli, Maxwell, Green, and a few more like Patidar—so I believe they have a lot of good batting, and everyone wants Virat Kohli to make that comeback from 2016 and score heavily at the top. If that happens, they will have a great chance to go forward,” Harbhajan said.
Besides ex-RCB skipper Kohli, CSK legend Dhoni and Delhi Capitals’ (DC) Rishabh Pant are also tipped to make blockbuster returns at IPL 2024. Earlier, the IPL released a partial schedule of the 2024 season, featuring 21 matches between March 22 and April 7. Bangalore will play five of their 14 games in the 17-day window. Defending champions CSK will meet RCB in the IPL 2024 opener at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on March 22. The final of the cash-rich league will be played on May 26.