Kohli, Dhawan Lash Back at Strike Rate Critics:
In a recent IPL match, Simon Doull criticized Virat Kohli for his batting approach against the Lucknow Super Giants. Kohli started well, scoring 42 runs off the first 25 balls he faced, but then slowed down against the leg-spinners of the opposition.
Doull expressed concern about Kohli’s focus on reaching a milestone rather than keeping the momentum going for the team. ”Concerned about a milestone – I don’t think there’s room for that in this game anymore,” Doull said on commentary at the time. “You’ve just got to keep going, especially with wickets in hand at that stage. You’ve got to keep going.”
Kohli defended his approach, stating that he plays according to the situation and always for the team, not for himself. He also defended the role of the ‘anchor’ in Twenty20 cricket, saying that some people who have not been in that situation themselves might look at the game differently. Kohli said: “There are many people who – because they have not been in that situation themselves – look at the game differently. Suddenly, when the powerplay is done, they will be like ‘Oh, they have started rotating the strike.‘
“I’m not thinking about strike rate. Oh, my strike rate must be 160 plus or anything. I play T20 cricket according to the situation. If the situation demands I can play 230 strike rate and I can do this any day. I always play for my team and not for myself.” he concluded.
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This difference in opinion on strike rate in Twenty20 cricket was further highlighted by Doull’s criticism of Babar Azam’s pace in the PSL and Harsha Bhogle’s criticism of Shikhar Dhawan’s early strike rate in another IPL match.
“I hope you were happy with my strike rate as you tweeted something,” quipped Dhawan at the podium after he was named the Player of the Match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Despite this criticism, both Kohli and Dhawan have had successful innings in the IPL, with Kohli making a 34-ball 50 in a recent match against the Delhi Capitals and Dhawan scoring an 86 off 56 balls in another match. Overall, it seems that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to the strike rate in Twenty20 cricket, and different players have different strategies based on the situation and the needs of the team.
