Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar has opined that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli should play his aggressive game and not be a 'tickler' in IPL 2021.
RCB skipper Virat Kohli has had a below-par IPL 14 campaign so far, given his lofty standards. The swashbuckling batsman has amassed 163 runs in six games at an average of 32.60, while his strike rate reads 126.35.
Apart from his 72* against Rajasthan Royals (RR), Kohli has failed to cross the fifty-run mark. In the recent encounter against Delhi Capitals (DC) he scored just 12 runs off 11 balls in RCB’s one-run win over Rishabh Pant-led side.
IPL 2021: "Let’s see 20 overs of ABD" - Sunil Gavaskar wants AB de Villiers to open for RCB
Speaking to Star Sports, Sunil Gavaskar said that the Indian skipper had set such high standards for himself that people expect big innings from him every time he comes to bat. He urged Virat Kohli to play his aggressive game and not be a 'tickler’.
"He has set such high standards for himself that every time he comes out to bat, people expect big innings from him. I would just like to say, maybe he shouldn’t be the tickler… he should look to be the puncher,” Sunil Gavaskar told Star Sports.
Gavaskar said that Virat Kohli is looking to tickle every ball for a single in his innings instead of playing some of his usual punching cover drives. He added that the RCB skipper should keep playing to his strengths and he will be back among the runs.
"What he was trying to do (against Avesh Khan) – he was just trying to tickle the ball for a single. He really shouldn’t be looking at the singles. He should be looking to be able to hit the ball in such a way, the way he drives and punches around the extra cover area.
So, that’s exactly he has to do. Those are his strengths. He must keep playing to his strength and he will be back to getting runs,” he said.
IPL 2021: Suresh Raina congratulates Virat Kohli on completing 6000 runs in IPL
Recently, Virat Kohli became the first and only cricketer to get to 6000 runs in the IPL. While talking about the same Gavaskar remarked that his achievement will pave the way for other cricketers to follow.
"It stands right at the top, for the simple reason that when you're the first to get to a particular landmark, you're setting the bar for others. And now the others will want to get to 6000, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina, who have gone past 5000. They will be looking to get to 6000 because that is what the No. 1 player does," he concluded.
Despite Virat Kohli not being at his best this season, the RCB has managed to win five out of their six games so far. They will next face Punjab Kings (PBKS) on 29th April at Ahmedabad.
(Star Sports inputs)
