Another IPL, another titleless year for Virat Kohli. It has been 17 years since the IPL title eluded Kohli. Royal Challengers Bangalore coach Andy Flower is impressed by how Kohli is ‘hungry’ for the game despite being title-less for years.

In this year’s IPL, despite a great turnaround in the middle of the season, Bengaluru lost to Rajasthan Royals in Ahmedabad yesterday in the eliminator. 35-year-old Kohli is the highest run-scorer in this year’s IPL so far with 741 runs with one century and five fifties, despite the team being knocked out of the eliminator.

Flower is impressed with the batting of India’s star batsman in this year’s IPL. Now he is looking forward to watching Kohli in the T20 World Cup, which will start on June 2, Bangladesh time, in the United States and West Indies. The former Zimbabwe wicketkeeper-batsman said, ‘Working with him in the same dressing room is truly a pleasure. As a former batsman, it is also a great pleasure to watch him bat.

However, Kohli could not do much on the day of greatest need for his team Bengaluru in this year’s IPL. He scored 33 runs off 24 balls with 3 fours and 1 six at the loss of 4 wickets for the team. But Rajasthan’s Dhruv Jurel was helped out by a brilliant fielding throw.

All in all, Flower said, “The way he thinks about the game, and the way he reflects on it with his incredible skill, attacking attitude and hunger…I’m looking forward to seeing him at the World Cup.” The way he still evolves his game despite having all these amazing records is amazing.”

Kohli scored 154.69 runs in this year’s IPL, hitting 62 fours and 38 sixes. However, Kohli has been criticized for his strike rate at the beginning of the tournament. Former South African captain AB de Villiers said that Kohli played well under the pressure of criticism, commenting that it was a shape-bearer for him.

“Maybe it (Kohli’s criticism) is a blessing in a way,” former Bengaluru player de Villiers told Geo Cinema. Because, these things motivate him a lot. Ricky Ponting, the head coach of Delhi in the IPL and the former captain of Australia, meanwhile said about Kohli’s criticism, “I think people in India always try to find reasons.