Sunil Gavaskar has hit out at Virat Kohli’s rant at his strike-rate critics and said that the commentators were just responding to what they were seeing in front of them during the matches. Kohli’s strike rate has been a topic of discussion recently with many criticising him for being slow after the powerplay overs.
Virat Kohli, known for his aggressive style on and off the field, lashed out at critics who questioned his strike rate after a match against Gujarat Titans (GT) on April 28. Kohli, who scored a commendable 70 off 44 balls in that match, expressed his displeasure at the criticism he received for his perceived slow scoring rate after the powerplay overs.
Sunil Gavaskar responds to Virat Kohli’s comments
However, this outburst did not sit well with Sunil Gavaskar, who responded to Kohli’s rant during the pre-show of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) vs GT clash. Gavaskar, known for his analytical acumen, pointed out that the commentators were merely doing their job, responding to what they observed during the matches.
“Commentators questioned only when the strike rate was 118. I’m not too sure. I don’t watch too many matches, so I don’t know what the other commentators have said otherwise. But if you have a strike of 118 and then you get out in the 14th or the 15th with a strike rate of 118, I mean, if you want applause for that, that’s a little bit different. That’s different,” said Gavaskar while speaking to Star Sports.
Gavaskar highlighted that the criticism arose only when Kohli’s strike rate was around 118 and he got out around the 14th or 15th over. He expressed his surprise at Kohli’s reaction, questioning why Kohli was responding to the ‘outside noise’ if he claimed not to pay attention to it.
Gavaskar further emphasized that the commentators did not have any hidden agendas and were simply speaking about what they saw. He stated that even if they had personal likes and dislikes, they focused on the events of the match.
“When you talk about all these guys talk about, oh we don’t care about outside noise, acha. Then why are you replying to any outside noise or whatever it is. We all played a bit of cricket, not a lot of cricket. We don’t have agendas. We speak about what we see. We don’t necessarily have any likes and dislikes. Even if we have likes and dislikes, we actually speak on what is happening,” said Gavaskar.
Sunil Gavaskar#sunilgavaskar#ViratKohli #rcb #royalchallengersbangalore #gujrattitans pic.twitter.com/WXs4XeBNq6
— RVCJ Sports (@RVCJ_Sports) May 4, 2024
Also Read: Haryana and Madhya Pradesh register commanding wins in the National Women’s Hockey League
