'Make runs for team, not for...' - Gautam Gambhir's advice for Virat Kohli in 20-20 World Cup 2022

Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir (Image Source: Twitter)

The 20-20 World Cup 2022 got underway on October 16, Sunday and the group-stage matches are witnessing new upsets with each passing day. While Scotland stunned the crowd with a win against West Indies on Monday, the first match between Namibia and Sri Lanka turned out to be a cracker as the island nation lost the match.

India, who played a warm-up game against Australia on Monday, won the game by 6 runs and it was Mohammed Shami and Suryakumar Yadav who outclassed the others. Virat Kohli, who was unbelievable on the field, managed to score only 16 runs with the bat.

Gautam Gambhir, the former Indian cricketer, advised Kohli to not focus on personal milestones and play for the nation instead. Further, the former left-handed batter requested the Indian giant to put on performances that would help India in crunch situations.

In these tournaments, individuals have no value: Gambhir

The former India player said that Kohli must leave his intentions of scoring runs for personal records in India and added that he must lead team India with the bat in difficult situations. Gambhir said that if a player scores 500 runs and the team fails to win the showpiece event, he stressed that it would go i

“Go with the mindset of runs, what else can there be? The role of a batter is to make runs, the role of the bowler is take wickets. Make runs that help your team. Not runs that just go in your record or add to your 500 or 100 tally. Make 40 or 30 but help your team reach 170-180. If you are chasing, bat in a manner where you can relieve the lower middle-order of pressure,” Gambhir was quoted as saying to Star Sports .

“In these tournaments, individuals have no value and should be left at home. If you are going to Australia, pack them in India. If you make 200 runs and your team wins the world cup that is your legacy. If you make 500 runs and the team does not qualify, those runs only go in your individual record. If the whole team is criticised, you will be part of it,” he added.