India will look to win World Cup for Kohli, says Virender Sehwag

NEW DELHI: Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag expressed that the entire nation eagerly anticipates witnessing Virat Kohli lifting the World Cup trophy, recalling how he and his teammates, under MS Dhoni, gave it their all for Sachin Tendulkar in 2011.

Regarded as one of the premier contributors to Indian cricket, Kohli has accumulated an impressive tally of 12,898 runs in 274 ODIs, boasting an average of 57.32.

Notably, Kohli was part of the 2011 World Cup squad led by MS Dhoni.

India went to the 2019 World Cup under Kohli's captaincy but they were knocked out in the semifinal.

Speaking to Star Sports, Sehwag highlighted that t Kohli always gives his 100 percent and predicted that the playing surfaces in the tournament are likely to favor his ability to accumulate runs.

"We played that World Cup for Tendulkar. If we won the World Cup, it would have been a great exit for Sachin paaji. Virat Kohli is the same now. Everybody will look to win the World Cup for him. He always gives more than 100 per cent," Sehwag said.

"I think Virat Kohli is also looking to this World Cup. 100,000 people will watch you at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Virat knows how the pitches will behave. I am sure he will score a lot of runs and he will do his best to win the World Cup for India," he added.

Sehwag went on to reveal that during the World Cup, Dhoni only had khichdi throughout the tournament. "MS Dhoni used to have khichadi throughout the 2011 World Cup. It was his superstition," he said.

India will open their 2023 World Cup campaign against Australia on October 8 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.