Virat Kohli, who is leading the Orange Cap race, has been under the scanners for his strike in the IPL 2024 thus far.
The debate around Virat Kohli’s T20 strike rate has once again taken centerstage in the ongoing season of Indian Premier League. Kohli is currently leading the Orange Cap race in IPL 2024 with 316 runs in 5 matches at a strike rate of 146.29. He was the first centurion of the season but that knock came under scrutiny. Kohli hit the 67-ball ton against Rajasthan Royals which is the joint-slowest in the tournament history.
Virat Kohli has scored 316 runs in 5 matches in IPL 2024 thus far at a strike rate of 146.29. (PTI)
The batting maestro remained unbeaten on 113* off 72 balls but his team Royal Challengers Bengaluru failed to score 200 and eventually lost the match against Rajasthan Royals. Kohli finished with a strike rate of 156.94 but he didn’t get much support from the other end in the slog overs.
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Several former cricketers and critics have questioned Kohli’s intent and under-par strike rate this season but his childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma has shut them and come in support of the RCB superstar.
Rajkumar posted a video on his Instagram account of a TV debate he took part in and expressed his support towards Kohli.
“Agenda as they call it, he knows how and when to perform,” he captioned the video.
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A post shared by Rajkumar Sharma (@rajkumarcricket)
In the video, Rajkumar stated that the critics should also look at the situation of the match before taking shots at the RCB batter and made a bold comment that those who are criticising Kohli want to get into the limelight.
“Those who have been saying that it was a slow century should realize the situation of the match, the score, and his strike rate. They know that if they talk about Virat Kohli, they will get the limelight, and their news will become popular,” Rajkumar said on India News.
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The 58-year-old didn’t stop there and slammed Kohli’s critics for not having any knowledge about the game.
“I have sent you Virat’s stats. You should see his strike rate and the percentage of runs in knockout matches for India at T20 World Cups. They don’t have any knowledge of cricket. Wickets kept falling at the other end, but still, he continued scoring at a strike rate of around 135.”
Meanwhile, RCB have hit a rough patch as they have lost four of their five matches and are currently placed at the ninth spot on the points table.
