Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) star batsman Virat Kohli He recently strongly responded to critics who criticized him for his strike rate in T20 cricket. The former Indian captain stressed that his goal remains to win matches for his team rather than individual statistics.
The handsome right-hander also recalled his record of consistent performance over 15 years and highlighted his contribution to the team’s victory. Kohli is currently the leading run-scorer in the ongoing IPL 2024, with 500 runs in 10 innings for RCB at a strike rate of 147.
However, former New Zealand cricketer turned commentator Simon Doull believes Kohli should avoid engaging in social media commentary. The former New Zealand pacer further said that Kohli’s comments show that he may be influenced by what he reads online about his strike rate, and wonders why he would bother with so much negativity given his stellar career in cricket.
Doull wondered how someone of Kohli’s caliber would pay attention to criticism on social media, urging the RCB star to focus on his game rather than external noise. He also feels that Kohli’s tendency to address such criticism in post-match interviews indicates that he or someone close to him is actively monitoring social media comments, which is completely unnecessary.
Simon Doull told Cricbuzz: “Interesting that he returns to these things because they are not going to ask him. Looking for your strike rate? Those will not be the questions. Clearly, he’s reading social media or someone is reading all the social media about him. And he does it quite often in post-match presentations, where he has something to highlight.”
Doull added: “About things that are written about him. Why does he bother? I mean, seriously, that guy is a good player. Why does he bother reading the garbage some people write or why do people read it and tell him about it? I do not understand that? I just look at what he’s done and why would you bother reading social media and trying to make this clear in interviews? If you read social media, you should have better things to do.”
Virat Kohli and RCB have a different story in IPL 2024
Notably, Virat Kohli was recently named in the Indian squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024, which will be played in the US and West Indies next month. He is the all-time leading scorer in the Men’s T20 World Cup, with 1141 runs to his name in 27 matches he has played so far for Team India.
The dashing right-hander is currently in excellent form with the bat in the ongoing IPL 2024. He has already amassed 500 runs for RCB this season, and it was the seventh time he made 500 runs in the tournament, in the process becoming the only second player to achieve the feat.
However, RCB is finding it very difficult to win matches in the ongoing IPL 2024, where they have won only 3 of their 10 games in the tournament. RCB is currently 10th in the standings and will face Gujarat Titans (GT) in their next IPL 2024 match on May 4 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.