NEW DELHI: Despite being the highest run-scorer in the IPL this season so far,
Virat Kohli
's strike-rate has been a major talking point among fans and cricket pundits.
It all began with Kohli's joint slowest IPL ton, off 67 balls, against Rajasthan Royals and since then RCB star's strike-rate has been keenly observed.
But on Monday, Kohli, with his brisk 20-ball 42 albeit in a losing cause, gave a befitting response to his strike-rate critics.
Former
T20 World Cup
winning all-rounder Irfan Pathan too recently came out in defence of Kohli, pointing out his India teammates are not quite far ahead of him in terms of strike-rate and targeting Kohli alone wasn't fair.
"Virat Kohli's strike-rate is actually slightly better than
Chris Gayle
in T20Is. It's 137 or close to 138,
Hardik Pandya
's strike-rate is 139,
Rohit Sharma
's strike-rate is 139. We don't talk about their strike-rates and we are talking about Virat. You need to make it strike-rate plus average," Irfan Pathan said on Star Sports Press Room.
"You need to see the kind of role that particular player is playing. You can't have the same yardstick for each and every player. If a guy is batting at No. 6 or 7 and having a strike-rate of 137, will you be happy? You want a better strike-rate. But if you have a guy, who has nearly 50 average plus a 137 strike-rate, why would you even want to talk about whether he should be in the team or not," Pathan explained.
The current Orange Cap holder, Kohli so far has 361 runs to his name in 7 matches and has a staggering average of 72.20.
And the much-talked about Kohli's season's strike-rate is also over 147.
Although, despite Kohli being in red-hot form, his side Royal Challengers Bengaluru has had a horrendous season, losing six out of their 7 matches.
They currently are at the bottom of the table and are on the verge of an early elimination.
On Monday, RCB lost their fifth straight game against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
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