Virat Kohli is expected to open the innings for India at the elite T20I event in the West Indies and the US which starts on June 1.

Virat Kohli showed his batting prowess as an opener during the IPL, finishing the tournament as the leading run-scorer.

During the 17th edition of the tournament, Virat Kohli made 741 runs in 15 matches, thus becoming the only batter to cross the 700-run barrier this year.

With this, Virat Kohli won the Orange Cap for the second time in the history of the IPL, having previously bagged it in 2016.

In 2016, Virat Kohli struck a phenomenal 973 runs, which remains a record in the event.

However, Virat Kohli was criticized for his batting style throughout the event, with questions being raised about his strike rate almost regularly by former cricketers.

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Among two of the most vocal critics of Virat Kohli's strike rate in the IPL were the legendary Sunil Gavaskar and retired New Zealand pacer Simon Doull.

Dinesh Karthik, who hung his boots after RCB's ouster from the 2024 IPL eliminator last week pointed out that Simon Doull's criticism did impact Virat Kohli's batting performance in the event.

“Virat Kohli – well, I can write a book on how he was this year (IPL 2024). He started okay, but I think thanks to people like Simon and a few others who really spurred him on. And you don't want to see that side of Virat Kohli,” Dinesh Karthik told Cricbuzz.