Virat Kohli Thrives on Criticism, Says Dinesh Karthik After IPL 2024 Performance

Cric News India IPL News 2025

May 27, 2024 0 812

Dinesh Karthik credited critics for fueling Virat Kohli’s passion, helping him become the top run-scorer in IPL 2024 with 741 runs, and described Kohli as someone who thrives on proving people wrong.

Virat Kohli, the star batter of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), reclaimed his form in IPL 2024 by emerging as the season’s top run-scorer with 741 runs. Analysts had earlier questioned if Kohli’s strike rate met modern T20 standards. Criticism surrounding his strike rate prior to the tournament ignited a competitive spark within him, as per teammate Dinesh Karthik.

When speaking to Cricbuzz, Karthik shared insights into Kohli’s response to criticism, highlighting how external doubts fueled his performance.

“I can write a book on how he was this year. He started okay but thanks to people like Simon (Doull) and a few others, they just really spurred him on. And you don’t want to see that side of Virat Kohli. I think he thrives on that. He is someone who inadvertently wants to hold on to certain things to do well,” Karthik said.

“He loves proving people wrong, and even though he might not come out and say it, it fuels his passion and he’s like a molten lava coming out. He’s fiery and you don’t want to be anywhere close to it because you’re going to get burnt for sure. After all, he’s done this time and time again,” he added.

Praising Virat Kohli’s intense leadership, the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman also highlighted his crucial role in Royal Challengers Bangalore’s success.

“You can speak about RCB, the success, and all of that; it is not happening without that man. I’m not saying this with his batting. It’s the intimidating feeling that he gives when he’s on the field, the way he pushes fielders, if you ever had a mic in one of those timeouts, my god!” Karthik said.

Notably, former cricketer Simon Doull, who previously critiqued Kohli’s T20 strike rate, acknowledged the batter’s exceptional career spanning 17 years. Doull mentioned that his constructive feedback was aimed at motivating a player of Kohli’s caliber. Despite occasional differences in opinion, Doull expressed admiration for Kohli’s talent and professionalism, emphasizing that any critiques were never intended personally.