BENGALURU: Ahead of the fixture against Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League 2024, former India cricketer Aakash Chopra believes that critics should focus on Royal Challengers Bengaluru opener Virat Kohli’s hitting abilities rather than his strike rate.
Kohli, the second-highest run-getter in IPL 2024, has amassed 500 runs at a strike rate of 147.49 in 10 matches. He has struck 46 fours and 20 sixes in the ongoing T20 tournament.
The former right-hand opener emphasized that, apart from Yashasvi Jaiswal, none have performed well in matches played after the announcement of the T20 World Cup 2024 squad. This includes Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sanju Samson, and Jasprit Bumrah.
“I have a different wish. At the time of recording, whichever player’s name has come in the World Cup team, after that, his first match has been extremely cold, whether it is Rohit (Sharma), Hardik (Pandya), Surya (Suryakumar Yadav), Jasprit (Bumrah), Yuzi (Yuzvendra) Chahal or Sanju Samson. Only Yashasvi Jaiswal scored a few runs,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
The cricketer-turned-commentator further stressed that for the Bengaluru-based franchise to win against Gujarat, Kohli needs to anchor the innings and score runs.
“So I am thinking that Virat Kohli should also score runs. I am expecting runs from Virat Kohli and if Bengaluru have to win, he needs to stay there. You don’t know what you will get from Maxi (Glenn Maxwell). No one will talk about the strike rate. They will only talk about the hitting,” he said.
RCB is at the bottom of the points table with three wins and seven losses, totaling six points. They are set to face Gujarat Titans (GT) at home on Saturday in the ongoing 17th edition of the cash-rich league.
RCB squad for IPL 2024: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Will Jacks, Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Lockie Ferguson, Yash Dayal, Mohammed Siraj, Suyash Prabhudessai, Anuj Rawat, Himanshu Sharma, Swapnil Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Reece Topley, Tom Curran, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Mayank Dagar, Alzarri Joseph, Manoj Bhandage, Akash Deep, Saurav Chauhan, Rajan Kumar. (ANI)
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