"He has that with himself" - Former RCB teammate's massive praise for Virat Kohli ahead of IND vs NZ 2025 Champions Trophy match

Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Indian pacer Varun Aaron believes Virat Kohli's battle is only with himself and not the opponent ahead of the New Zealand clash of the 2025 Champions Trophy. The game will be the final one of the group stages, played in Dubai on March 2.

Kohli is coming off a magnificent 100* in India's last outing against Pakistan, helping them clinch a semifinal spot. He will play his 300th ODI in the contest against the Kiwis as the two teams battle to finish on top of Group A, having already qualified for the semifinal.

Talking about Kohli before the New Zealand clash on Star Sports, Aaron said (quoted by India Today):

"With the form Virat Kohli is in, I don't think that there is any battle. If there is any battle at all, he has that with himself. If he is in the correct frame of mind, if he is in the zone, I don't think he will face any great trouble against the New Zealand side. We have spoken about Mitchell Santner, and he has taken him down on many occasions."

Kohli's century against Pakistan was his 51st (record) in the ODI format. During the knock, he became only the third cricketer to scale the 14,000-run mark in ODIs after Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara.

The champion batter boasts an outstanding record against New Zealand in ODIs, averaging almost 59 at a strike rate of 95.69 with six centuries in 31 outings.

"Rohit would go very hard against Matt Henry" - Varun Aaron

Varun Aaron backed Indian skipper Rohit Sharma to go after Kiwi opening bowler Matt Henry to unsettle the pacer in the India-New Zealand 2025 Champions Trophy clash.

Rohit has provided quick starts to India in both their wins in the tournament against Bangladesh and Pakistan, despite not scoring a half-century yet. Meanwhile, Henry has been as solid as ever, picking up three wickets in two games at an average of 27.33 and an economy of 5.02 to help New Zealand pull off convincing wins over Pakistan and Bangladesh.

"I think Rohit would go very hard against Matt Henry in the beginning. If he can disturb Matt Henry's lengths early, then he would not pose much trouble to us," said Aaron.

The winner of the India-New Zealand encounter will take on Australia in the semifinal, while the loser will play South Africa in the other semifinal.