Babar Azam-led Pakistan will be one of the strong contenders for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Under Babar Azam’s captaincy, the Men in Green performed well in the last two editions of the World Cup, but failed to make it to the end.
In 2021, Pakistan stormed to the semi-finals, but had to defeat eventual winners Australia. In 2022 they made it to the final for the first time since 2009, but failed to win the title decider against England. Pakistan will be desperate to take a step forward this year and become only the third team after the West Indies and England to win the cup twice.
Pakistan will look to make a strong start to its election campaign to gain momentum. And one man who can spoil their plans is none other than Indian superstar Virat Kohli. The former Indian captain has been Pakistan’s biggest concern in ICC competitions for the last decade and is expected to deliver another memorable knock against Pakistan this year.
Kohli has an impressive record against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup. In five matches, he has scored 308 runs against Pakistan at an average of 308. Kohli has hit three half-centuries in five T20 World Cup matches against the Men in Green. In the last edition of the T20 World Cup, he had single-handedly led India to a miraculous victory over Pakistan with an unbeaten 82-run win.
Virat Kohli’s defeats against Pakistan in T20 World Cups:
| Running | BF | 4s | 6s | S.R | Floor | Date |
| 78* | 61 | 8th | 2 | 127.86 | Colombo (RPS) | September 30, 2012 |
| 36* | 32 | 4 | 1 | 112.5 | Mirpur | March 21, 2014 |
| 55* | 37 | 7 | 1 | 148.64 | Eden Gardens | March 19, 2016 |
| 57 | 49 | 5 | 1 | 116.32 | Dubai (DICS) | Oct 24, 2021 |
| 82* | 53 | 6 | 4 | 154.71 | Melbourne | Oct 23, 2022 |
Babar Azam on Pakistan’s plans to stop Virat Kohli:
Pakistan will face Virat Kohli when they take on India on June 9. Ahead of the World Cup clash, Babar Azam was asked if Pakistan are planning specifically for Kohli ahead of their T20 World Cup.
In response, the captain stated that the Pakistan team is not planning for any player specifically. At the same time, he praised Kohli as one of the best players and said that the team had plans against him.
“As a team, you always plan against different teams and according to their strengths. We don’t plan anything against just one player. We are planning for all eleven players. We don’t know much about the conditions in New York and will do so. Plan accordingly [Virat Kohli] “He is one of the best players and we will also plan against him,” Babar Azam said.
Before leaving for the T20 World Cup, Pakistan will visit Ireland and England for two T20Is. They will play three T20Is against Ireland and four against England before the main event in the Caribbean and the United States of America.