Virat Kohli is human and not a god, stated Navjot Singh Sidhu after the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter’s explosive remarks over his strike rate in the ongoing IPL 2024 tournament.
Virat Kohli delivered one of his most fluent T20 performances in recent memory, propelling Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a nine-wicket victory over the Gujarat Titans on Sunday.
Kohli scored his fourth half-century of the season, taking his total to 500 runs and solidifying his status as the Orange Cap holder. Kohli hasn’t done badly, with an average of 71.4 and a strike rate of 147.4, but the daggers are out, as they always are.
The pace at which Kohli has scored runs, as well as his strike rate against spinners, have come under scrutiny in the aftermath of RCB’s disappointing IPL 2024 performance, particularly after the Sunrisers Hyderabad game, in which he ambled to 51 off 43 balls.
“All the people who talk about strike-rates and me not playing spin well are the ones talking about this stuff. For me, it’s about winning the games for the team and there’s a reason why you’ve done it for 15 years, you’ve done this day in and day out, you’ve won games for your teams, I’m not quite sure that if you haven’t been in that situation yourself, to sit and talk about the game from the box.
For me, people can talk about their assumptions day in and day out, but those who have done day in and day out, they know what’s happening and it’s a kind of muscle memory for me now,” Kohli told commentators during the break in RCB v GT match.
Kohli’s post-match comment created quite a stir, his ‘attitude’ not impressing users on X.
“People think Kohli is God, he is a human, so will play like a human too”- Navjot Singh Sidhu
While Kohli has been likened to the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, Navjot Singh Sidhu has reminded the public that Virat is not a God and that expecting him to achieve everything and tick all the boxes is a mistake. Sidhu challenged Kohli to show him a batsman who excels at taking a slow left-arm bowler against the spin, using an example of Kohli’s exceptional batting against Titans’ Sai Kishore, whom Kohli blasted for back-to-back sixes in the sixth over.
“People think Kohli is God. He is a human, so will play like a human too. Rather than nitpick, why don’t we look at the fact that the guy has 80 centuries. That’s his strength and weakness, he has none. And if you look carefully, today he played off the backfoot and lofted the spinners. Tell me how many can do that?
“Hitting a left-arm spinner against the spin… how many can do that? So Kohli has a presence, he cherishes his wicket too. What else is he supposed to do?” mentioned Sidhu on Star Sports.
Kohli’s spectacular form comes at a time when Team India’s squad for the T20 World Cup can be announced anytime.
Also Read: IPL 2024: RCB To Win The Tournament? Rajat Patidar Has Insane Ideas
