However, this did not go down well with legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, who attacked the former Royal Challengers Bangalore captain before the start of the match against Gujarat Titans at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
READ ALSO: ‘What Maxwell can do, Kohli can’t’: Gautam Gambhir speaks out on RCB batsman’s strike rate controversy
“The commenters only asked when the strikeout rate was 118. I’m not sure. I don’t watch many games so I don’t know what other commentators have said differently. But if you have a strike of 118 and then you go on 14 or 15 with a strike rate of 118, I mean, if you want applause for that, that’s a little different situation. Times of Hindustan Gavaskar quoted.
Besides, Gavaskar slammed Kohli for his hypocrisy in reacting to criticism. However, he added that commentators do not act with hidden agendas and are simply doing their job.
READ ALSO: Watch | Virat Kohli’s ‘arrogant’ remark on commentators critical of his strike rate; Internet users are not thrilled
“All these guys talk about how we don’t care about outside noise. So why are you responding to outside noise or whatever it is. We all played a little bit of cricket, not a lot of cricket. We don’t have We talk about what we see. We don’t necessarily have likes and dislikes, but what we really talk about is what’s going on,” Gavaskar said.
What did Kohli say?
To silence critics who commented on his strike rate, Kohli said, “All the people who talk about strike rate and how I am not playing well with spin love to talk about such things. But for me, all that matters is winning the game, the game for the team, and there’s a reason you’ve been doing it for 15 years – because you’re doing it today [and] day off; you won games for your teams.”
READ ALSO: Virat Kohli shuts down strike-rate criticism after RCB’s win over GT: ‘To sit and talk about the game…’
Adding more, he said: “I’m not really sure if you’ve been in that situation yourself to sit down and talk about playing from the box. I don’t think it’s the same. For me it’s just by doing my job, people can talk about their own ideas and assumptions about the game, but those who did it every day [and] I know what’s going on all day long, and now it’s kind of a muscle memory for me.”
What did the experts say?
According to experts and former cricketers, Kohli’s reaction was unnecessary. Former Novel Zealand captain Simon Doull said Kohli had no need to make such a remark.
I am talking with cricbuzzDoull said: “I think he reads a lot of things on social media and reacts to it. If he is not reading, someone on his team informs him of what is being said. He’s a great player and he didn’t have to react like that after the match.”
“This is not the first such case this year. He has a habit of scoring points after the game. There is no need for him to read nonsense on social media and then make gigantic statements,” added the former Kiwi player.
READ ALSO: ‘Virat Kohli is a great player, but…’: Harbhajan Singh reveals his choice as opener in the T20 World Cup squad
Meanwhile, talking about Kohli’s strike rate in the IPL, Gambhir said, quote Sports Stars“Every player plays a different game. What Maxwell can do, Kohli cannot do and what Kohli can do, Maxwell cannot. You have to have different types of batsmen in your XI. If you stack No. 1 to No. 8 using explosive hitters, you can score 300 but also get bowled out for 30.”
He added that strike rate is subjective and depends on the demands of the match. “When you’re winning, even a hit rate of 100 is good. But when you lose despite having a hit rate of 180, no one talks about it. This is the reality,” Gambhir added.
Kohli in IPL 2024:
In 11 matches, Kohli scored 533 runs at an average of 76.17 and his strike rate was 150.99. Apart from this, Kohli also hit 47 boundaries and 24 sixes. He is currently leading the list of IPL orange caps.
Posted: May 4, 2024 10:04 PM ET
