April 29 (Punjab Khabarnama) : Ahead of the T20 World Cup squad announcement for India, there was enough discussion and criticism of Virat Kohli’s strike rate, especially in the middle overs, through the course of the ongoing 2024 IPL season. While Kohli remains the Orange Cap holder with 500 runs this season, a sluggish century against Rajasthan Royals earlier this month and a slow-paced 51 against Sunrisers Hyderabad left experts pointing fingers at his strike rate.
Giving his two cents on the ongoing criticism against Kohli’s intent in the format, former India cricketer and Kolkata Knight Riders mentor Gautam Gambhir reckoned that every player possesses different abilities and that a team requires both explosive batters and anchors. The former World Cup winner further stressed on the factor that winning matters more than the strike rate of the batter.
“Every player has a different game. What Maxwell can do, Kohli cannot, and what Kohli can do, Maxwell cannot. You need to have different types of batters in your XI. If from No.1 to No.8 you stack it up with explosive batters, you may score 300 but also get bowled out for 30. “When you win, even a strike rate of 100 is good. But when you lose despite having a strike rate of 180, no one talks about it. That is the reality,” he told Sportskeeda.
On Sunday, Kohli smashed a match-winning 70 not out off 44 balls against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. His knock and an unbeaten ton from Will Jacks helped RCB chase down 201 in just 16 overs with nine wickets in hand.
Following the knock, Kohli gave a mouth-shutting reply to critics of his strike rate, saying that winning the game for his team has always mattered more to him.
“All the people who talk about strike rates and me not playing spin well are the ones who love talking about this stuff. But for me, it’s just about winning the game for the team,” Kohli said after RCB’s match against GT. “And there’s a reason why you do it for 15 years – because you’ve done this day in [and] day out; you’ve won games for your teams.”
The standout aspect of Kohli’s knock against the Titans was that 61 runs were smashed in 34 balls against spinners, thus recording a strike rate of 179.41, his third-best against the variety in a single IPL innings where he at least face 20 balls against spinners.
“I am not quite sure if you’ve been in that situation yourself to sit and speak about the game from a box. I don’t really think it’s the same thing [as playing out there],” Kohli said. “So for me, it’s just about doing my job. People can talk about their own ideas and assumptions of the game, but those who have done it day in [and] day out know what’s happening, and it’s kind of a muscle memory for me now.”
