'Someone like Virat Kohli is a...': Navjot Sidhu

NEW DELHI: Former opener Navjot Singh Sidhu has identified former skipper

Virat Kohli

as the potential game-changer ahead of the highly anticipated clash between India and Pakistan.
The much-awaited showdown between the two arch-rivals is set to take place in the

T20 World Cup

2024 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
India enters the match with confidence after securing a convincing 8-wicket victory over Ireland.

In contrast, Babar Azam-led Pakistan faced a disappointing defeat against the underdogs, the United States, in their previous game of the prestigious tournament.
A win against their rivals holds immense importance for Babar Azam's team to regain momentum in the competition.

Speaking at a special 'Star Sports Press Room' organised in New York ahead of the greatest rivalry between India and Pakistan in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024, Sidhu shared his views on the difference between the two teams - Virat Kohli.
"See, game changers are those who will score 2 runs in a ball. You are talking about strike rates, 1.5, 1.7, but some people are scoring 2.5 runs, three runs per ball. The innings of Romario Shepherd, 10 balls, 30, right. There are some people who in the end will come and score in 10 balls, a 35. Now that is the quality. That 35 in ten balls, if two people score and support someone like Virat Kohli, is a game-changer. Make no mistake about it," Sidhu was quoted in a release from Star Sports as saying.
Notably, Kohli with 741 runs from 15 matches, won the Orange Cap in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 and became just the third cricketer to win the Orange Cap award for the second time in his career.
"I've been saying this, you look at the IPL and you look at the T20 format, those who can score a 2.5 per ball or above two per ball are the real game changers. There are so many of them. There is Ravindra Jadeja, there is Shivam Dube and even Axar Patel also scores runs at the same pace. Why is Dhoni such a great finisher, because his strike rate is 2.5, his strike rate at times is 4 per ball. That is the real game-changing effect in the game of cricket in T-20. It's a different skill altogether, the skill to clear the ground," the commentator added.