'Things seem a bit dull...': Gayle's defining verdict on Virat Kohli's future after World Cup 2023 sends goosebumps

The 2023 World Cup will be Virat Kohli's fourth, having played his first back in 2011 when India won the tournament.

Indian batting superstar Virat Kohli has been on a steady upward curve of form, particularly in limited overs cricket, since mid-2022. The former India captain has broken his century droughts in ODI and Test cricket and even scored his first ever T20I century during the 2022 Asia Cup. He was the highest run scorer at the end of the 2022 T20 World Cup despite India being knocked out in the semi-finals and is now expected to put in a big performance in the 2023 World Cup which the country hosts later this year.

Gayle shared a dressing room with Kohli for a number of years in the IPL

There has also been speculation as to whether this might be Kohli's last. Kohli turns 35 in November this year and while he is back to scoring centuries, he has not quite regained the consistency that made him the best batter across formats particularly between 2014 and 2019. West Indies great Chris Gayle, who shared a dressing room with Kohli in the Indian Premier League for a number of years, however feels that the former India captain can push on till the next World Cup in 2027.

"Virat Kohli still has another World Cup in him. I don't think this is going to be his last World Cup. I think he has another World Cup in him. India are favourites, they play at home as well. So, it's going to be very interesting. We want to see the team they're actually going to select," Gayle said on TOI.

Kohli will be extremely crucial to India's chances when they play the World Cup later this year. Kohli has shatteredd a plethora of ODI records but the big one still awaits - overtaking Sachin Tendulkar's tally of 49 one-day hundreds. Having peeled of 46 of these already, you do the match, and with a handful of ODIs remaining this year, including the World Cup, Kohli looks set to soar past the pinnacle set by the great man. Gayle has also backed the King to score big in this year's World Cup and set a net standard to follow in ODI cricket.

"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. 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 said on PTI.

The World Cup returns to India for the first time since 2011 and going by the pattern of the last three editions, India are favourites since they play at home. Very rare have India lost an ODI in which Kohli has emerged a centurion, and hence, Gayle's 100-prediction for Virat will directly bode well for Team India.

Gayle feels that India will be under pressure considering they are playing at home. "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. First of all the squad, they're going to select because a lot of people are knocking on the door as well. India are always going to be a favorite at home as well. So, that' something that carries the pressure over to the India team as well," he pointed out.