Virat Kohli has hit five fifties in eight innings for RCB this season.
On Wednesday (April 26), Kohli once again drew flak for his circumspect approach against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
Chasing 201 to win, Kohli scored 54 off 37 balls while opening the innings. It was his fifth half-century in eight innings this season and his knock was studded with 6 boundaries.
However, former England captain Michael Vaughan wasn’t impressed with Kohli's batting. He feels the RCB star is holding himself back when it comes to playing attacking cricket after the fielding restrictions get over.
"I tell you what. I wouldn't mind seeing Virat against spin. A lot of teams are going to bowl spin against Virat because his strike rate becomes different. I think it’s around 107 against spin so most teams are going to bowl spin against Virat Kohli. They are going to put three on the boundary and he is going to knock it into that. I would love him to dance down and wipe one out of the ground. I just think he is that good that he can hit sixes. His mindset in t20 cricket after the six, powerplay is to almost be there till the 18th over. I don't think he is thinking on boundaries enough. He's still got to think boundaries in T20 cricket it’s very important," Vaughan said on Cricbuzz.
During the RCB-KKR clash, which the hosts lost by 21 runs, Virat got off to a blazing start but he slowed down once the powerplay was done. In this instance, Kohli had no option but to take the game deep in a huge chase of 201 as RCB were losing wickets at regular intervals.
Vaughan though reckons Kohli has got the game that should allow him to cut loose.
"He doesn't hit behind square; he goes with the pull shot over backward square leg we saw in the Powerplay. But once those 6 overs are over and he pats them on the leg side, he very rarely looks to be going to be hitting boundaries and I think he can. He's got the game, power and timing and say 'Alright, I need a six' He needs to bring that to the RCB team particularly situations they found themselves yesterday because you can't just rely on cameos from that middle order. You’ve got to continue with the mentality of that first six. I’d like to see him take a couple more risks," he added.
Virat Kohli is occupying the second spot in the list of IPL 2023 highest run-getters with 333 runs from 8 innings at a strike rate of 142.30. RCB skipper Faf du Plessis is leading the chart with 422 runs at a strike rate of 167.46.