West Indian great Chris Gayle has made a massive prediction regarding star India batter Virat Kohli. With less than 100 days to go for the start of the ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023 in India, Gayle reckons that Kohli will have a World Cup to remember. He believes that India's former captain will dominate the ICC tournament which is going to be played in his home conditions. His remark comes days after the schedule of the marquee event was released by the ICC. The finalists of the previous edition of the tournament- England and New Zealand- will face off in the tournament opener on October 5 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad with India set to begin their campaign against Australia in Chennai on October 8.
Gayle's remark about his former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) teammat's form comes after the batter's twin failure in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final. However, the fact remains that he had been in pretty good white-ball form and his form in red-ball cricket is the least convincing of the all the three formats. He had a great season in the IPL as well and if that is anything to go by, Gayle's prediction could come true.
"Tough times don't last long tough players last longer. Virat is tough mentally as well physically. I don't see any reason why he shouldn't go to this World Cup and dominate," Gayle told PTI news agency.
"As players, we always go through phases where things seem a bit dull and you need positive energy around to uplift yourself. Once we get back in the groove, we know how dangerous we can be," he added.
However, Gayle also reckoned that pressure will be on India as they will enter the tournament as favourites on home soil.
"I know India have not won an ICC trophy in a long time and same is the case with us (West Indies). We last won in 2016. Pressure will be on India as they play at home as favourites," the 43-year-old said.