Virat Kohli will be returning to competitive cricket on Friday as Royal Challengers Bangalore take on Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2024 opener, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Kohli will be in action after a two-month break and has only played two T20 matches (against Afghanistan in January) since IPL 2023, and there are doubts over his place in the Indian squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Last season, RCB didn't make it to the playoffs, finishing sixth in the 10-team table. Despite that, Kohli was in dominant batting form, finishing fourth in the Orange Cap race with 639 runs.
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With doubts over his Team India future, Kohli received backing from RCB legend and former teammate Chris Gayle. Speaking to Cricbuzz, Gayle felt that the 35-year-old still had plenty of 'years left in him to play all formats.'
"Very unique, the one and only Virat Kohli is still going and still going very strong. Still got a lot of years left in him to play all formats. We'll see what calls he makes for himself and for Indian cricket as well," he said.
Against CSK, Kohli will be expected to open the batting or will feature at his usual No. 3 spot. He is also the batter with most runs in IPL history, boasting 7263 in 237 outings. Meanwhile, he is also 73 runs away from overtaking Shikhar Dhawan (1057) as the top run-scorer against CSK in IPL history. The veteran has managed 985 runs against Chennai.
{{/usCountry}}Against CSK, Kohli will be expected to open the batting or will feature at his usual No. 3 spot. He is also the batter with most runs in IPL history, boasting 7263 in 237 outings. Meanwhile, he is also 73 runs away from overtaking Shikhar Dhawan (1057) as the top run-scorer against CSK in IPL history. The veteran has managed 985 runs against Chennai.
{{/usCountry}}IPL 2024 will also see Ruturaj Gaikwad perform captaincy duties for CSK, having taken over the role from MS Dhoni. The opener will also have Dhoni returning to action after nearly a year, having undergone knee surgery after IPL 2023, where he led CSK to the title. RCB will be seeking a winning start to their campaign, as the search for the elusive IPL title continues. Meanwhile, CSK will look for a record sixth IPL title this season.