Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma has lashed out at the critics of the RCB star's strike-rate in the IPL 2024 season, saying that they are just trying to grab the headlines.
In five matches so far, Kohli has registered scores of 21 (20 balls), 77 (49 balls), 83* (59 balls), 22 (16 balls) and 113* (72 balls) while opening the innings for RCB. He is currently holding the Orange Cap for scoring most runs in IPL 2024.
However, Kohli’s runs haven’t been able to bring success for the RCB as the franchise has lost four of its five games. As a result, his strike rate has been questioned by many fans and cricket experts alike.
In particular, Kohli drew flak on social media following his 67-ball hundred in RCB’s six-wicket defeat against Rajasthan Royals in the last fixture.
Speaking to India News, Virat Kohli’s coach responded to scrutiny, saying that the critics aren't looking at the context of the game.
Rajkumar Sharma also added that they're just looking to be famous and stay in the news by using Kohli's name.
“Some people who are saying this nonsense, I think they don't know the context of the match, what the situation of the match was and how the team was struggling,” Sharma said.
"They speak only to be in the news. Just because whenever you speak about a normal player, it does not bring you in the news headlines, but if you speak about a player like Virat Kohli, it brings you in the news headlines."
Kohli's childhood coach further claimed that there is a lobby trying to push an agenda against the RCB legend and someone with the knowledge of the game would never do such 'nonsense.'
“Look, this is a lobby which is running an agenda. They're just pushing an agenda, and as fans or true analysts we don't care about their agenda. See, the king will always be the king. A person who knows even the 'C' of cricket would never do such nonsense," Sharma remarked.
Languish in the 9th spot on the points table, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will next face Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday (April 11).
