Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer reckons T20 World Cup selection is not playing on Virat Kohli’s mind but winning matches for RCB in IPL 2024 will be his utmost objective. Kohli scored 21 runs off 20 balls in the opening match of the Indian Premier League 2024 against Chennai Super Kings on Friday.

The talisman made the much-awaited return to action in the IPL after missing the five-match Test series against England due to a personal reason. Kohli was also added to the squad in a three-match T20I series against Afghanistan after a long hiatus of 14 months.

Kohli played two matches in which he scored 29 runs against Afghanistan and he will be determined to prove his mettle in the ongoing IPL 2024. The linchpin is also the highest run-getter in the IPL history with 7284 runs in 238 IPL matches.

“Sometimes we speak too much about Virat Kohli. Playing at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, I think that he is going to go hard in the powerplay and that strike rate will go up. I don’t think that the T20 World Cup selection will play in his mind. Winning games for RCB will be more important to him,” Wasim Jaffer said while speaking on ESPNcricinfo.

Kohli has been a consistent performer and he will look to deliver at the top of the order along with Faf du Plessis.

Meanwhile, RCB lost the opening match against CSK by six wickets and they will aim to bounce back stronger against Punjab Kings in their second game. RCB’s batting unit could not come up with a collective effort as the top order failed to deliver the goods.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Punjab Kings in the sixth match of the Indian Premier League 2024 at their home venue of M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Monday.