Australia batter Steve Smith has predicted Virat Kohli to have a good IPL 2024 with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, which would cement his place in India's squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

Smith praised Kohli's ability to handle pressure scenarios and emphasised how India will require that in the 2024 T20 World Cup. Virat Kohli's limited performance in the T20 format of the game since the 2022 T20 World Cup, has ignited speculation around his chances to feature in the Indian squad travelling to the USA and West Indies for the T20 World Cup. However, the iconic batter's phenomenal IPL and T20I record is one that can hardly be ignored by any side. In a recent IPL show on Star Sports, Steve Smith backed the 35-year-old by stressing on his enormous experience as a seasoned batter for both India and RCB. "He plays the situation. Some wickets you play on, your strike rate doesn't need to be high. We've seen Virat play some masterclass innings and get his team over the line, whether it is for RCB or for India. I've been in the opposition and he has done it against us on numerous occasions," Smith said. Smith went on to praise Kohli's ability to handle pressure and stressed how vital that can be for India's plan for the World Cup, starting in June. "He (Kohli) plays extremely well under pressure. He loves that. It is such players that you want in your team when you go to the World Cup and face pressure situations. You want the experienced players who stand up in those situations and Virat is certainly one of those," Smith added. Since India's semifinal loss to England in the 2022 T20 World Cup, Kohli has made only two T20I appearances, both of which occurred during India's recent Afghanistan series in January 2024. In his two appearances in the series, Kohli managed to score 29 runs in the first match and got out on a duck in his second. IPL 2024 brings Kohli a fresh chance to assert his prowess as a T20 batter. Having scored 4,037 runs in his 137 T20I games and 7,263 in his 237 IPL matches, Kohli will focus to get back in top form ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup. RCB begin their IPL 2024 campaign against CSK in their season opener on March 22 in Chepauk. IPL 2024: David Willey to miss start of season, says LSG coach Justin Langer