Virat Kohli and Sunil Gavaskar had a recent exchange of words following Kohli’s response to criticism over his strike rate in T20 cricket. Ahead of the crucial match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Gavaskar made notable comments regarding Kohli’s career progression and the influence of MS Dhoni.
While commenting during a rain delay in Mumbai Indians‘ final league game against Lucknow Super Giants at Wankhede Stadium, Gavaskar remarked on Kohli’s early career and Dhoni’s role in his development.
“When Virat Kohli started his career, it was a stop-start career. The fact that MS Dhoni gave him that little extra momentum is why he is the Kohli we see today,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
Recent Dispute Over Strike Rate
This statement follows a previous disagreement where Kohli defended his approach to T20 batting, particularly against spinners. After scoring an unbeaten 70 against Punjab Kings, Kohli addressed his critics, stating:
“All the people who talk about strike rates and me not playing spin well are the ones who love talking about this stuff. But for me, it’s just about winning the game for the team. And there’s a reason why you do it for 15 years – because you’ve done this day in [and] day out; you’ve won games for your teams.
“I am not quite sure if you’ve been in that situation yourself to sit and speak about the game from a box. I don’t really think it’s the same thing [as playing out there]. So for me, it’s just about doing my job. People can talk about their own ideas and assumptions of the game, but those who have done it day in [and] day out know what’s happening, and it’s kind of a muscle memory for me now.”
Gavaskar responded sharply to Kohli’s remarks, questioning the need for applause for a strike rate of 118.
“If you have a strike rate of 118, you come and face the first ball, and then you get out in the 14th or 15th over and your strike rate is 118 – if you want applause for that, then that’s a little bit different. We’ve all played a bit of cricket, not a lot of cricket, but we speak about what we see. We don’t necessarily have any likes and dislikes. Even if we have likes or dislikes, we actually speak about what’s happening. So, I would be very disappointed if Star Sports showed this once more because that would be questioning all of us commentators,” Gavaskar said.
The exchange between Kohli and Gavaskar has added an extra layer of intrigue to RCB’s upcoming match against CSK, as both teams vie for a playoff spot in the IPL 2024 season.
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