New opening partner, adventures against spin challenges, post T20I-retirement re-invention: Talking points on Virat's 400th T20 game

After retiring from T20Is last year at the peak of his powers, with a T20 World Cup title and a match-winning knock in the final under his belt, Virat's IPL season promises to be a lot more different but still very similar.

In 399 T20s, Virat has scored 12,886 runs in 382 innings at an average of 41.43, with nine centuries and 97 fifties. His best score is 122*.

After Dinesh Karthik (412 matches) and Rohit Sharma (448 matches), he will be the third player from India to play his 400th T20. He is the sixth-highest run-getter in T20s and India's highest.

Despite retiring as the third-highest-run-getter in T20Is (4,188 runs in 125 matches), this IPL is going to be just as filled with scrutiny as the past editions.

His game against spin, strike rate, and shot selection will be watched, analysed, debated, criticised and lauded to the bits, as T20 keeps changing with explosive scoring rates and different rules.

The star batter would no doubt be looking to silence any potential criticism with the same fire that has made him one of the modern-day greats since his debut in 2008.

Would there be more risks taken? Would there be some unorthodox shots in his arsenal? Only time will tell.

This season promises to be the same in another sense as the chase for the maiden title continues. In his 18th season, the man with the number 18 on his back would be aiming to deliver an all-time great performance and inspire his team as a senior and a leader to their first-ever IPL title, adding another accolade to his Hall of Fame-worthy career.

8,004 runs in 252 matches, eight centuries and 55 half-centuries, and 973 runs in the 2016 season with four centuries; all these stunning statistics have not been enough for the IPL's most accomplished batter to lift the trophy, highlighting the cruelty of team sport.

Things could be a little different for Virat. As competitive and fiery as he is, he would no doubt be looking to re-invent his game following his T20I retirement and perhaps play with a little more freedom, variety, and unorthodoxy.

He could use all the noise about his striking and scoring abilities much more, given that he does not go through the rigours of playing in T20Is anymore and goes absolutely bonkers on the field.

Another difference is Virat's opening partner. Having opened with the likes of Chris Gayle, Devdutt Padikkal, and Faf Du Plessis over the years, Virat will be accompanied by England's hard-hitting batter, Phil Salt, who played a crucial role in KKR's title run last season.

Salt seems to have already built a solid bond with Virat, a prerequisite for any batting pair before blasting it out on the field. In a video posted by the RCB franchise on their X, he said about his bonding with Virat, "He is chilled. He is quite similar to me, like being a competitor, like getting into a fight a little bit. Main conversations have been around music and other stuff. We get along very well."

During his match against KKR, he will face two challenging spinners: red-hot Varun Chakravarthy and West Indies legend Sunil Narine. The game is set to be a battle of two completely different spin bowling attacks, with an experienced Narine and red-hot Varun on one side and seasoned all-rounder Krunal Pandya leading a part-time and inexperienced spin group of Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, and Suyash Sharma for RCB.

Ahead of the game in the pre-match presser, Varun, who took nine wickets in India's title-winning ICC Champions Trophy campaign, was excited about a battle with Virat, saying, "Definitely excited to be coming up against Virat. Obviously, he has batted well against me, and I would like to do well against him also," he added.

Virat has faced Varun in seven innings with a cautious approach, scoring 40 runs in 39 balls at a strike rate of just over 102. Varun has dismissed Virat once and has conceded two fours and a six against the Indian legend.

Against Narine, Virat has scored 162 runs in 157 balls in 20 innings, averaging 40.50 and striking at just over 103. Narine has dismissed Virat four times and has been on the receiving end of 12 fours and two sixes against the Indian star.

However, the 2024 IPL saw Virat taking the game on against spinners, even in middle overs, utilising the slog sweep against them.

In 13 innings, Virat scored 292 runs in 213 balls against spin, striking at a much-improved strike rate of 137.08, at an average of 58.50, being dismissed five times. He scored 17 boundaries and 15 sixes (out of his total 38) against spin.

This was a noticeable improvement in his spin game, having struck at just over 113 with 17 fours and four sixes in IPL 2023 and faring poorly in the 2022 season, with a strike rate of 108 and five sixes against spin. Will Virat become a little more adventurous against spin this time? (ANI)