Chennai (Tamil Nadu): Ahead of the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season opener, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star batter Virat Kohli opened up on their clash against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and said that it would be "good" to catch up with the legendary cricketer MS Dhoni.
Kohli is the highest run-getter in IPL of all time. In 237 matches and 229 innings, the India talisman batter has scored 7263 runs at an average of 37.24, with a strike rate of 130.02. His best score is 113. He has scored seven centuries, most by a batter and 50 fifties in his IPL career.
In a recent episode of RCB's Bold Diaries, Kohli said that it's been a "while" that he has met Dhoni.
The former India skipper said that it would be "nice" to play in front of the "passionate" CSK fans at the iconic Chepauk Stadium. He also added that the season opener of the IPL 2024 will be a "big game".
"Playing against Chennai is obviously always a special occasion, a big game. You know, the Southern Derby as they call it. Yeah, it's nice to play infront of very passionate Chennai fans and yeah good to catch up with MS Dhoni, it's been a while," Kohli said.
https://twitter.com/RCBTweets/status/1771010714762879067?
Last season, the 35-year-old batter was the fourth-highest run-getter, piling up 639 runs at an average of 53.25 and a strike rate of 139.82. His best score was 101*. The 35-year-old scored two centuries and six fifties but could not take his side to the playoffs.
Also Read: https://www.thehawk.in/posts/ipl-2024:-m-s-dhoni-steps-down-as-csk-captain-ruturaj-gaikwad-appointed-new-skipper
The 17th season of the IPL will start on Friday, with defending champions Chennai set to clash with Bengaluru in the Southern derby at MA Chidambaram Stadium.
RCB squad: Faf du Plessis (C), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh and Saurav Chauhan.
—ANI