“You cannot have a collective strike rate and really criticize anybody for that” – Ambati Rayudu defends Virat Kohli amidst ‘strike rate’ criticism

Former Indian batter Ambati Rayudu has defended Virat Kohli amid his strike rate criticism. Kohli scored 51 runs off 43 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad at a strike rate of 118.60 and he was slammed by a lot of cricket boffins. However, Kohli also hit back at his critics after scoring 72 off 44 balls against Gujarat Titans.

Kohli has amassed 661 runs in 13 matches of the IPL 2024 at an average of 66.10 and a strike rate of 155.16. Rayudu feels the strike rate of a batter depends on the pitch and the opposition on a given day.

Rayudu said on Star Sports, “I think about the strike rate. It entirely depends on the surface and the given match. You cannot have a collective strike rate and really criticize anybody for that. On a given day, if you are batting under par, you say you need to score 200 and with your strike rate, you can only score 160, then you should be criticized.”

The former CSK batter feels the match situation should be taken into consideration before judging a batter’s strike rate.

“But on a given day, you can only score 140, like how Ruturaj got 40 off 40, that’s a crucial knock. I think collective stats should not really be taken into consideration and Virat Kohli has been batting beautifully and especially against spinners this year, he has been playing those slog sweeps onside and I don’t think he should be criticized. He should not be criticized for any format, anywhere in the world,” he added.

Meanwhile, after his knock against SRH, Kohli has shown more intent against the spinners in the middle overs and he has also brought out the slog sweep. Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh also concurred with Ambati Rayudu.

“He is a champion player for India. I think he showed a lot of intent in the middle overs against the spinners as Rayudu mentioned. Never seen him playing those sweep shots. Now he is playing those sweep shots over midwicket. That goes on to show that he is trying. Even though he is Virat Kohli, he is still trying to be better than Virat Kohli, you know what we have seen. As long as people are their best, they shouldn’t be criticised,” said Harbhajan to Star Sports.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play their last league stage match of the season against Chennai Super Kings at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Saturday.