Dinesh Karthik recently mentioned that Virat Kohli was fired after listening to his strike rate after the conclusion of the IPL 2024 edition. Highlighting Virat’s outstanding performance in this IPL season, Karthik mentioned that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) thrives on criticism and loves to prove people wrong.
Virat Kohli loves proving people wrong- Dinesh Karthik
Regarding Kohli’s fascinating run with the bat, here’s what Karthik mentioned about him during a discussion on Cricbuzz:
“I can write a book on how he was this year. He started okay but thanks to people like Simon (Doull) and a few others, they just really spurred him on. And you don’t want to see that side of Virat Kohli. I think he thrives on that. He is someone who inadvertently wants to hold on to certain things to do well.”
“He loves proving people wrong, and even though he might not come out and say it, it really fuels his passion and he’s like a molten lava coming out. He’s fiery and you don’t want to be anywhere close to it because you’re going to get burnt for sure because he’s done this time and time again.”
Karthik praised highly of Kohli and stated that the former captain’s campaign during the IPL was unmatched. He also said as a former skipper he deserves credit, he stated:
“You can speak about RCB, the success, and all of that; it is not happening without that man. I’m not saying this with his batting. It’s the intimidating feeling that he gives when he’s on the field, the way he pushes fielders, if you ever had a mic in one of those timeouts, my god!”
“There will be a lot of bleeps for a start and Ben Stokes will be mentioned a bit, but if you look past all that, the intensity that he carries and he expects each player to do well. I doff my hat to him. To be doing that in the 17th year of IPL, stand up and applaud the man. RCB and its fans should be grateful to have a guy like that.”
Virat Kohli ended up with the Orange cap bagging 741 runs in 15 innings at a strike rate of 154.69.
“It’s never personal. We’ve had great conversations” – Simon Doull on questioning Virat Kohli’s T20 strike rate
Former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull had previously questioned Virat Kohli‘s strike rate in the T20 format. During the discussions with Cricbuzz, Simon suggested Virat not to bother about losing his wicket, given his caliber.
Simon clarified that he doesn’t have any beef with Virat Kohli. He said that they have had many conversations before. He opined:
“He’s too good to worry about what if he gets out. He’s too good a player, and that was always my point around him. I said a thousand great things about Virat Kohli, but I say one thing that might be slightly negative or construed to be negative, I get death threats. It’s never personal. We’ve had great conversations. I’ve interviewed him at tosses, we’ve talked after games, there’s never been an issue.”
Given the achievements Kohli has amassed all these years, the former cricketer mentioned that at times he needs criticism for motivation. He went on to say:
“When I look at the game and the way the game’s moved, particularly with the impact sub, it had moved, and a strike rate of 134 or 135 didn’t cut it anymore. What he did this year, I loved the way he was more aggressive. He took the bowling on. He played the slog sweep, which we didn’t see him play much. And he’s never not going to have the fire and be one of the fittest blokes in the game, because that’s what drives him.”
“Sometimes he needs some motivation. I thought about it afterwards and I thought you know maybe he does thrive on it because what else has he got to thrive on? After 17 years of giving the game everything he’s given, he’s got to look for something to spur him on now and then.”
RCB qualified for the playoffs with their six-win streak but lost against RR in Eliminator 1.
Also Read: IPL 2024: Virat Kohli Thanks Dinesh Karthik For Motivating Him During IPL 2022