Tom Moody wants unstoppable Kohli to 'go out there bossing the game' in IPL 2024

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's star batter Virat Kohli is poised to make his eagerly-anticipated return to action in the opening match of the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League against the Chennai Super Kings. Kohli's last appearance was during the T20I series against Afghanistan in January 2024; he opted out of the subsequent five-match Test series against England citing personal reasons. 

In recent weeks, there has been substantial conjecture regarding Kohli's role in the T20 format. The Telegraph reported this month that the Indian stalwart's inclusion in the final 15 for the impending T20 World Cup 2024 in June is uncertain, with his performances in the upcoming IPL season deemed decisive. 

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Kohli has been brilliant in the T20 World Cup ever since he first featured in the 2012 edition of it, being the leading run-getter in the tournament with 1141 runs under his belt in 25 innings at a spectacular average of 81.50. It is difficult to envision an Indian team without the 35-year-old. After all, he has been a linchpin of the team for so many years.

Former Australia cricketer Tom Moody suggested that Kohli should adopt an aggressive approach in IPL 2024, in light of reports about his T20I future as well as considering RCB's recent batting reinforcements, especially with the presence of hard-hitters like Cameron Green and Will Jacks into their structure. He also wanted Kohli to bat with a more aggressive approach than usual, stating that the icon very well had it in him to deliver the goods, mentioning that whenever he saw him batting that way, he would get nightmarish flashbacks of the 2016 season, a season in which Kohli had won the Orange Cap for his record-breaking tally of 973 runs in a single season.

“I'd like to see him firstly take the game on, and boss the game. Because he has got the game. He's got more than a game. He's one of the greats. When he does that, he looks unstoppable. I just keep getting flashbacks of the season in 2016 when he had a bumper year. He scored well over 900 runs; you just couldn't bowl to him. No one was looking at the strike rate then because he was controlling the game," Moody told ESPNcricinfo.

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I want to see Virat go out there bossing the game: Moody

The cricketer-turned-coach also said that he wanted to see Kohli dominate the game by taking it upon himself by dictating his innings in a bolder way than how he usually goes about composing his innings in the 20-over format.

I want to see Virat go out there bossing the game. He can do it, you are not asking someone to do something they are not capable of. He can do that and can tear this tournament apart,” Moody added.