What did Sunil Gavaskar say while hitting back at Virat Kohli over RCB batter’s rant on strike-rate critics?
Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar has hit back at star batter Virat Kohli for his response to the critics of his strike rate after the encounter between the Gujarat Titans (GT) and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on April 28.
Following the game, Kohli, who finished unbeaten on 70 from 44 deliveries, went at the critics questioning his strike rate after the powerplay and against spin. The champion batter mentioned how those in the commentary box spoke about his game without actually facing the situation.
Taking note of Kohli's comments, Gavaskar returned the favor to the RCB batter ahead of the return clash against GT today.
"Commentators questioned only when the strike rate was 118. I'm not too sure. I don't watch too many matches, so I don't know what the other commentators have said otherwise. But if you have a strike of 118 and then you get out in the 14th or the 15th with a strike-rate of 118, I mean, if you want applause for that, that's a little bit different. That's different," said Gavaskar during the pre-match show on Star Sports.
Gavaskar also criticized the broadcasters for repeatedly showing Virat Kohli's post-match comments.
"That particular post-game interview has been shown on this channel earlier as well, and right now on this particular program since 6 o'clock, it has been shown probably a half a dozen times. I hope that they recognize this, that when that is being shown, the critics are commentators. I think they have shown it enough times, everyone has got the message," added Gavaskar.
Virat Kohli has enjoyed an outstanding season with the bat, scoring 500 runs at an average of 71.42 and a strike rate of 147.49.
Yet, despite his brilliance, RCB is languishing at the bottom of the table with only three wins in 10 outings.
"We don't have agendas" - Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar continued his criticism of Virat Kohli by asking why he constantly responds to the outside noise despite saying he doesn't pay attention to it.
With the T20 World Cup starting in June after the IPL, Kohli's place in the Indian side has garnered mixed reactions, thanks to his occasional slow-paced knocks.
"When you talk about all these guys talk about, oh we don't care about outside noise, acha. Then why are you replying to any outside noise or whatever it is. We all played a bit of cricket, not a lot of cricket. We don't have agendas. We speak about what we see. We don't necessarily have any likes and dislikes. Even if we have likes and dislikes, we actually speak on what is happening," said Gavaskar.
Despite maintaining a considerably high strike rate this season, Virat Kohli's overall strike rate in his IPL career is still only just over 133.