Navjot Singh Sidhu firmly backed RCB opener Virat Kohli, who has been in scintillating form this IPL season, despite criticism of his strike rate.
Recently, Virat Kohli took a strong stance against criticism surrounding his strike rate and performance against spin bowling in the IPL. Following RCB’s win against the Gujarat Titans, Kohli addressed the commentators directly, calling their critiques “expert comments” made from the comfort of the commentary box. Former Indian all-rounder Navjot Singh Sidhu came to Kohli’s defence.
“People think Kohli is God. He is a human, so he will play like a human too. Rather than nitpicking, why don’t we look at the fact that the guy has 80 centuries? That’s his strength and weakness; he has none. And if you look carefully, today he played off the backfoot and lofted the spinners. Tell me how many people can do that. Hitting a left-arm spinner against the spin—how many can do that? So Kohli has a presence; he cherishes his wicket too. What else is he supposed to do?” Sidhu shared on Star Sports, as quoted by NDTV.
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Interestingly, Sidhu was not alone in supporting Kohli. Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif had also spoken out against strike-rate criticism before citing an interesting example with bowlers. “All I hear about these days is strike rates. People are after Kohli. Boss, between overs 7 and 15, it’s obvious to slow down. The economy rate of a spinner is lower than that of a fast bowler. Why? Because they bowl the middle overs,” said Kaif.
While the debate about Kohli’s strike rate continues, ‘King’ Kohli shows absolute dominance on the field. He currently holds the orange cap in IPL 2024, with a blazing 500 runs in 10 matches and a strike rate of 147.49. He will be next seen facing the Gujarat Titans on May 4th.
Last Updated on April 29, 2024
