How do you drop a batsman who has scored two consecutive centuries in T20s? The man himself, Virat Kohli, has hit back at his critics who said his T20 career is declining
He has also called out the BCCI top brass who were planning for T20 future without him, in front of India’s T20 captain Hardik Pandya. The Royal Challengers Bangalore star smashed his 7th IPL ton and 8th in T20s in a crunch RCB vs GT clash on Sunday.
A lot of people feel my T20 cricket is declining, but I don’t feel like that at all. I feel I am playing my best again, enjoying myself, hitting gaps and big ones at the end. You have to rise to the occasion when the situation demands, and I take a lot of pride in doing it, and I’ve been doing it for a while now. I feel really good in my game right now,’ Virat Kohli told the broadcaster after hitting a century against Gujarat Titans.
Many former cricketers including Kiwi commentator Simon Doull called out Virat Kohli for his poor strike rate, especially in the powerplay. That he dragged on his innings, preventing his team reach a better total was something many criticised Kohli for.
However, that has not been the case of late. Kohli has struck at a destructive pace inside the powerplay and on Sunday, he scored 101 not out off just 61 balls at a blazing strike rate of 165.57.
‘Ravi’s chat in the changing room was to stay in the present (on rain). I wasn’t focussed on the drizzle or the other game. I just focused on what I needed to do for my team,’ Kohli added.
In fact, inside BCCI’s power corridors, despite leading India to a fantastic win over Pakistan in the T20 World Cup, playing out-of-the-world innings, there had been calls to try out youngsters in place of Kohli in T20s.
But how can BCCI and the selectors ignore 639 runs at 53.25 average and 139.82 strike rate? It’s unlikely. There could still be a chop and change going into the T20 World Cup. Rohit Sharma could be the first to fall. But King Kohli may still retain his place with such performances. While T20 World Cup is still far away, a reboot is out of the question for Kohli’s spot for the time being.