The IPL 2024 witnessed a major controversy between Virat Kohli and Sunil Gavaskar. Kohli, unhappy with criticism from experts about his batting, fired back, prompting a response from Gavaskar. Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram weighed in, siding with Gavaskar and stating that Kohli should have refrained from making such comments.
Following Sunil Gavaskar’s critique of Virat Kohli’s strike rate, Australian legend Matthew Hayden has reignited the discussion, weighing in on the possibility of Kohli opening for India at the upcoming T20 World Cup. Hayden believes Kohli’s strike rate has improved significantly in the last four IPL seasons, going from the mid-120s to over 150. He emphasized that Kohli’s aggressive approach will be valuable regardless of his batting position due to India’s strong batting lineup. Despite Kohli’s limited experience opening in T20Is, Hayden highlights his impressive record, including his century against Pakistan in last year’s Asia Cup. Given the favorable batting conditions in the West Indies, Hayden suggests that Kohli would be a potent force as an opener.
Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar has criticized Star Sports for repeatedly playing Virat Kohli’s explosive interview from last week, where the former Royal Challengers Bangalore captain lashed out at his critics over his strike rate. Gavaskar, who works as a cricket expert for Star Sports during the IPL season, accused the broadcaster of questioning their own commentary team by constantly airing the interview.
Virat Kohli’s recent rant against critics over his strike rate has sparked a heated debate, with former India captain Sunil Gavaskar expressing strong disapproval. Gavaskar criticized Kohli for hitting out at commentators who questioned his strike rate after he failed to score at a high enough rate against spin in the ongoing IPL 2024. Despite Kohli’s impressive 70-run innings against Gujarat Titans, where he scored at a strike rate of 179 against spinners, Gavaskar argued that the commentators had only been critical when Kohli was dismissed before the slog overs with a strike rate below 120. Gavaskar also accused Kohli of hypocrisy for responding to critics despite claiming not to care about outside noise, emphasizing that commentators are simply doing their job and providing their observations on the game.
