Simon Doull recently accused Virat Kohli of playing for personal milestone.
During the PSL 2023 season, Doull slammed Peshawar Zalmi skipper Babar Azam’s ‘selfish’ approach with the bat on quite a few occasions. He recently caught everyone’s attention for criticizing RCB’s star batter Virat Kohli’s knock in an IPL 2023 match against LSG.
Kohli scored 61 off 44 balls with 4 fours and as many sixes. He also added 96 runs for the opening wicket with captain Faf du Plessis.
However, Doull wasn’t impressed with Virat’s approach as he said during the commentary: “Virat Kohli started off like a train. He was going hammer and tongs and playing lots of shots. From 42 to 50, he took 10 balls. He's concerned about his milestone. There is absolutely no room for personal milestones in this game anymore.”
Simon Doull’s on-air comments created quite a stir on social media, and former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has reacted strongly to ex-Kiwi pacer’s criticism of Kohli.
"When he was in Pakistan, he used similar words for Babar Azam. If he had watched the game consciously, he would've noticed that Kohli tried to hit Bishnoi three four times but he missed. That is part of the game. He has 75 centuries in international cricket. He doesn't have to prove anything to anyone. It's utter rubbish. He (Doull) has played cricket, but he was a bowler," Butt said on his YouTube channel.
Salman Butt also accused Simon Doull of 'narrow-minded thinking' and seeking attention.
"Young players often play like this as getting to milestone might secure their place in the team. Why would Kohli do that? This is RCB we are talking about. He is not fighting for his place in the Indian team. He is a world class player. Get a life. Get out of this narrow-minded thinking. All the big players like Babar, Virat and Williamson are not power-hitters. They put value on their wicket. Maybe he's trying to get attention," he added.