Virat Kohli Strike Rate Debate: Who Said What So Far And Is There An 'Agenda' Behind It. (BCCI/IPL)
Virat Kohli, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) talisman, has been under extreme scrutiny, especially his strike rate. Despite being at the top of the tree in the bid for the Orange Cap with 316 runs, Kohli has faced criticism for his strike rate (146.29) , even after a remarkable century in the 19th match against Rajasthan Royals.
Critics have pointed out Kohli's century is one of the slowest in the competition, with comparisons drawn to other players' innings, notably Jos Buttler's century in the same match at a significantly higher strike rate. While Kohli's
tons came at a strike rate of 156.94, Buttler did it at 172.41.
It was the joint-slowest ton in the IPL on Indian soil. Another factor that has been brought up in discussions is the fact that Kohli faced 60 per cent of the total deliveries in an innings and did not accelerate much, thereby putting pressure on the middle and lower order to score quickly, which can lead to risky shots and potential wickets. After his innings, Kohli had explained the reason and said, "One of us (him or opening partner du Plessis) had to bat till the end. I feel this total is effective on this pitch. I am not coming in with any premeditation. I knew I couldn’t get over aggressive, just that I had to keep the bowlers guessing. It’s just experience and maturity of playing the conditions.”
But critics have not been kind towards him and a former Pakistan speedster has openly trolled him as well. Kohli's old rival, Junaid Khan, mocked Kohli for his slow-paced century against Rajasthan at his X post.
Such was the fury online that legendary West Indies cricketer Ian Bishop had to admit that he did commit a mistake while hyping up Kohli's knock during commentary, especially after he raised fifty in 39 balls.
However, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan slammed the critics and shared his views: "Stop targeting and criticizing Virat for his strike rate. He scored 113 runs at a strike rate of above 150, which is not bad at all. We have to look at the performance of the other batters. What did they do, and what was their strike rate?"
Former Australia captain Michael Clarke also jumped to Kohli's defence and said, "I wouldn't point my fingers at Virat Kohli. He was brilliant, and I think he played the exact role he needed to play because the batters around him were not scoring enough runs, not playing with enough confidence or enough freedom,” Clarke told Star Sports.
Legendary West Indies batter Brian Lara is another voice that has backed Kohli and said, "The strike rate depends on the position, and for an opener, strike rate of 130-140 is pretty alright. But if you are coming in the middle-order then you may be required to hit at 150 or 160. As you have seen in this IPL, batsmen are hitting at 200 in the latter part of an innings."
Is there an agenda?
However, Kohli's childhood coach, Rajkumar Sharma, has created a storm on social media with his comments. According to the 58-year-old, the criticism of Kohli's strike rate going by some cricket experts and pundits on social media is being done only 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.
"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. Don't even know the 'C' of cricket. Wickets kept falling at the other end, but still, he continued scoring at a strike rate of around 135," he added.
“Look, this is a lobby which is running an agenda. They're just pushing an agenda, and as fans or true analysts we don't care about their agenda. See, the king will always be the king. A person who knows even the 'C' of cricket would never do such nonsense," he concluded.
