Questions over Virat Kohli's strike rate and 'lack of aggression' over the course of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 have been a hot topic. The discussion was so intense that even Kohli had to go all out to silence his critics. Even when former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan was asked if Virat has done enough to cement his place in the Indian T20 World Cup team, he almost lost it and said it was a 'disappointing question'.
“First of all, it is a very disappointing question. This question being asked is very disappointing. How can the question be asked whether Virat Kohli will get a place in the World Cup or not?”, Pathan told Star Sports in response to the query from a fan.
“I am not talking about the success rate of IPL, we are talking about the Indian squad here,” Irfan claimed in the video, while emphasizing the importance of keeping players like Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the team at venues where the pitches can be quite slow. and two-stage.
Has @ImVKohli enough done to #VisaToWorldCup?@IrfanPathan highlights how the inclusion of KING KOHLI would be crucial to the #MenInBlue given the conditions at & the 🇺🇸
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— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) April 28, 2024
As an expert on Star Sports, Irfan has often spoken about Kohli's strike rate and his struggle to accelerate in the middle overs.
“If we talk about Virat Kohli specifically, you know that this innings has once again shown the world that it doesn't matter what batting pace he plays. He wants his team to win, and that's why he sometimes goes slow to play, but he always wants to play according to the situation.”
Against the Gujarat Titans, Kohli scored a 44-ball 70, while his partner Wil Jacks hit a 41-ball 100 to take RCB over the line. In addition, Kohli also crossed 500 runs in this campaign, while also wearing the orange cap on his head.
“It's good news for Virat Kohli, good news for RCB, but in the long run it's great news for Team India because you know there's been a lot of talk about Virat Kohli's strike rate and his form. You just have to ensure the success rate plus average. He has an orange cap on his hand, 500 runs, excellent,” Pathan said.
“And I don't understand where all this talk about the strike rate comes from. It actually disappoints me to ask you these questions. I've actually been talking about it since day one. Don't question that because he is a big match player. He always wins your games. And look what he did. It was a slow start. He played the slog sweep very well too, not playing that much but he played everywhere today and that is why he can achieve that success,” Pathan concluded.
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