Ahead of IPL 2026, former India and KKR batsman Aakash Chopra made a bold comment about Zimbabwe batsman Brian Bennett. Chopra compared Bennett with Indian batsman Virat Kohli.
Zimbabwe emerged as one of the most surprising teams in the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2026. Proving most predictions wrong, Chevron powered their way into the Super 8 of the global T20 International event. 22-year-old top-order batsman Brian Bennett made a significant impact with his attractive batting performance.
Aakash Chopra compares Zimbabwean batsman Brian Bennett with Indian batting star Virat Kohli
Aakash Chopra compared the emerging batsman to Virat Kohli. On February 26, when India faced Zimbabwe in Chennai for the Super 8 match, Bennett hit a straight six against Jasprit Bumrah, which was Virat’s highest six against Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf in the T20 World Cup 2022. The Zimbabwean opener showed his class by hitting the ball over the bowler’s head for a six.
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel, “He hit Bumrah for a straight six. It felt like Virat Kohli. He (Kohli) hit Haris Rauf in Melbourne and he (Bennett) hit Bumrah straight with the bat on the short ball in Chepauk. In my opinion, Brian Bennett was the pick of the young players. He is only 22 years old, he has a great future in front of him.”
Bennett was excellent: Aakash Chopra
The former cricketer, who is now working as a cricket expert, describes Bennett as the most exciting young talent to play in the 2026 T20 World Cup. The former cricketer used words like ‘outstanding’ for the emerging batsman.
Chopra expressed in the same YouTube video, “Brian Bennett. He was outstanding. The ease and ability with which he played was the best of the young players. I don’t think anyone could come close to him because he hit it so consistently.”
Against India, the right-handed batsman produced one of his best innings, scoring an unbeaten 97 off 59 balls. Their heartfelt efforts went in vain as India easily won the match by 72 runs.
Only a few batsmen scored more runs than Bennett in T20 World Cup 2026
If we look at Brian Bennett’s overall batting statistics in the T20 World Cup 2026, it will be easy to understand why Chopra is so impressed.
In six innings of the flagship tournament, the batsman scored 292 runs at an average of 146.00. Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan (383), New Zealand opener Tim Seifert (326), Team India star Sanju Samson (321) and Ishan Kishan (317), New Zealand’s Finn Allen (298) are the only batsmen to score more runs than Bennett in the tournament.
According to the official website of the International Cricket Council (ICC), Zimbabwe batsman Brian Bennett is currently ranked 17th in the men’s T20I batsmen’s list. The young gun has so far scored 1,888 runs at an average of 36.31 and a strike rate of 143.68. 111 is his highest T20I innings, which came against Tanzania on September 30, 2025.
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