However, this didn’t go well with legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, who lashed out at the former Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper before the start of the match against Gujarat Titans at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
ALSO READ: ‘What Maxwell can do, Kohli cannot’: Gautam Gambhir speaks on RCB batter’s strike-rate controversy
“Commentators questioned only when the strike rate was 118. I’m not too sure. I don’t watch too many matches, so I don’t know what the other commentators have said otherwise. But if you have a strike of 118 and then you get out in the 14th or the 15th with a strike-rate of 118, I mean, if you want applause for that, that’s a little bit different. That’s different,” Hindustan Times quoted Gavaskar as saying.
Apart from this, Gavaskar also lambasted Kohli for his hypocrisy in responding to critics. However, he added that the commentators don’t work with hidden agendas and are just doing their job.
“All these guys talk about, oh we don’t care about outside noise. Then why are you replying to any outside noise or whatever it is. We all played a bit of cricket, not a lot of cricket. We don’t have agendas. We speak about what we see. We don’t necessarily have any likes and dislikes. Even if we have likes and dislikes, we actually speak on what is happening,” said Gavaskar.
What Kohli had said?
To silence his critics, who commented over his strike rate, Kohli had said, “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. 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.”
Adding more, he said, “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. 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.”
What experts said?
According to experts and former cricketers, Kohli’s reaction was unnecessary. Former New Zealand skipper Simon Doull said that there was no need for Kohli to make such a remark.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Doull said, “I think he is reading a lot of stuff on social media and is reacting to it. If he is not reading, then someone from his team is informing him about what is being said. He is a great player, and he did not need to react in that fashion after the match.”
“This is not the first time this year. He has made a habit of making a point after the game. There is no need for him to read the rubbish on social media and then make big statements” the former Kiwi pacer added.
Meanwhile, speaking about Kohli’s strike rate in the IPL, Gambhir said, as quoted by Star Sports, “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.”
He added that the strike rate is subjective and depends on the match’s requirements. “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,” Gambhir added.
Kohli in IPL 2024:
In 11 matches, Kohli has scored 533 runs at an average of 76.17 and his strike rate has been 150.99. Apart from this, Kohli also hit 47 boundaries and 24 sixes. He is currently, leading the IPL orange cap list.
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Published: 04 May 2024, 10:04 PM IST