Never write off Kohli, says Aussie David Hussey

Cricket Victoria CEO Nick Cummins (left), Jatin Paranjape (centre) and ex-Australia player David Hussey yesterday. PIc/G Krishnan

Former Australia white-ball specialist David Hussey said on Tuesday that you don't write off champion cricketers like Virat Kohli, whose strike rate in T20s is a talking point of late.

Talking on the sidelines of the launch of the tie-up between former Mumbai batsman and national selector Jatin Paranjape's KheloMore, a digital platform that gives access for sport, and the Melbourne Cricket Academy (MCA), Hussey said: "Virat seems to take his game to a new level. You never write off champions like Steve Smith, Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma. I'm sure Virat is going to be a dominant force [in the World Cup] that he has been for the better part of the decade. You never write off your champions."

Picking India, Australia, Pakistan and the West Indies as the teams he thinks will finish in the top four of the T20 World Cup in June, Hussey said: "Any team can beat any team on a given day. Australia have some really good players. You have to hit form at the right time."

Talking about the tie-up between KheloMore and Melbourne Cricket Academy, Paranjape said: "With Melbourne Cricket Academy, we provide the right platforms to play cricket right from 5-6 years for boys and girls."