Virat Kohli has responded after Jofra Archer said that the India captain would be his most prized scalp at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
After being named in England’s final 15-man World Cup squad on Tuesday, Archer said he would value Kohli’s dismissal over all others. He said: “I’d quite like to get Virat out. I wasn’t able to do that at the Indian Premier League (for Rajasthan Royals).”
When asked about Archer’s remarks at the the Film Shed in London on Captains’ Day, Kohli said: “Did he say that? That’s news to me.”
“We don’t really focus on these things. You don’t focus on whether people want to get you out and things like that. Our focus is mainly on contributing to the team. I take a lot of pride in performing for the team, and making impact performances. If Jofra said that, it’s a huge compliment because he himself is a world class bowler. The way he has come about in the IPL and playing around the world in the last two years, there is a good reason for him to fast-tracked to the World Cup.
“I think he’s going to be their X-factor because he holds a skill set that’s very different from anyone else, he can generate a lot of pace which can be very intimidating and you don’t really expect that because of his run-up. He’s a great athlete. He’s going to be exciting to watch in the World Cup, I’ll personally be watching him as well because whatever I’ve seen of him has been very very exciting.”
Kohli-led India will play two warm-up games against New Zealand on May 25 and Bangladesh on May 28 before they play their first World Cup match against South Africa on June 5.
