Virat Kohli has often answered critics with his bat whenever questions have been raised over a certain flaw in his batting technique or his ability as a batsman, restricting his display of anger to aggression on the field. But ahead of the crucial IPL match against Chennai Super Kings, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru batsman spoke openly about a recent criticism that led to a war of words between him and fellow batting legend Sunil Gavaskar.
Recently, Kohli was criticised for his T20 strike rate during the initial part of the ongoing IPL season and then later slammed by Gavaskar for his tirade against experts and analysts who raised those questions just before the selection of the Indian team for the T20 World Cup.
However, Kohli not only was selected for the T20 World Cup but also went on to top the run-scoring charts of IPL 2024 and is currently the Orange Cap holder with 661 runs in 13 innings.
On a recent chat show on JioCinema, Kohli was quizzed about how he react to “noise from the external atmosphere” — a question which had its roots in the Gavaskar vs Kohli controversy.
“Mujhe react karne ki zarurat hi nahi hai. Mujhe pata hai mai ground pe kya kar sakta hu. Uske liye mujhe kisi ko batane ki zarurat nahi hai ki mai kaisa player hu, meri kya ability hai. Maine kabhi kisi se puchha nahi match kaise jitana hai. Maine khud se, situations mei dekh dekh ke, fail ho ho ke seekha hai. To ye by chance baat nahi hot. Aaap ne chalo ek jita diya, do jita diye. But itne match agar baar baar aap wahan khade ho aur jita rahe ho, to o by chance nahi ho sakta.
Translated to English: “I don’t have to react at all. I know what I can do on the ground. I don’t need to tell that to anyone, that what kind of player I am, what are my abilities. I never asked anyone how to win a match (for my team). I have learnt it myself by being in different situations, by failing. This doesn’t happeny by chance. Okay, you won one match for the team, or two. But if you are standing there and winning it repeatedly, then it can’t happen by chance.”
Recently, Kohli was criticised for his T20 strike rate during the initial part of the ongoing IPL season and then later slammed by Gavaskar for his tirade against experts and analysts who raised those questions just before the selection of the Indian team for the T20 World Cup.
However, Kohli not only was selected for the T20 World Cup but also went on to top the run-scoring charts of IPL 2024 and is currently the Orange Cap holder with 661 runs in 13 innings.
On a recent chat show on JioCinema, Kohli was quizzed about how he react to “noise from the external atmosphere” — a question which had its roots in the Gavaskar vs Kohli controversy.
“Mujhe react karne ki zarurat hi nahi hai. Mujhe pata hai mai ground pe kya kar sakta hu. Uske liye mujhe kisi ko batane ki zarurat nahi hai ki mai kaisa player hu, meri kya ability hai. Maine kabhi kisi se puchha nahi match kaise jitana hai. Maine khud se, situations mei dekh dekh ke, fail ho ho ke seekha hai. To ye by chance baat nahi hot. Aaap ne chalo ek jita diya, do jita diye. But itne match agar baar baar aap wahan khade ho aur jita rahe ho, to o by chance nahi ho sakta.
Translated to English: “I don’t have to react at all. I know what I can do on the ground. I don’t need to tell that to anyone, that what kind of player I am, what are my abilities. I never asked anyone how to win a match (for my team). I have learnt it myself by being in different situations, by failing. This doesn’t happeny by chance. Okay, you won one match for the team, or two. But if you are standing there and winning it repeatedly, then it can’t happen by chance.”
