The excitement of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) is now at its peak. The playoff qualification scenarios for all teams are becoming clearer. Meanwhile, former Indian cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has released his list of the top batters of IPL 2025. Surprisingly, he did not include Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star batter Virat Kohli in his list, which has disappointed many fans on social media.
Which players made it to Manjrekar’s list?
In his list, Manjrekar included Nicholas Pooran (377 runs, strike rate 204.89), Priyansh Arya (254 runs, strike rate 201.58), Shreyas Iyer (263 runs, strike rate 185.21), Suryakumar Yadav (373 runs, strike rate 167), Jos Buttler (356 runs, strike rate 165.58), Mitchell Marsh (344 runs, strike rate 161), Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen, and KL Rahul.
How has Kohli performed?
Virat Kohli has scored 392 runs in 9 matches so far in IPL 2025, with a strike rate of 144.11. He has smashed five half-centuries this season and is RCB’s highest run-scorer. Thanks to his performances, RCB has won 6 out of 9 matches and currently stands third on the points table.
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Fans’ reaction
Fans expressed their displeasure over Manjrekar’s list on social media. Many believe that Kohli’s consistency and contribution to his team deserve a spot in the list. Some fans also pointed out that selecting players based solely on strike rate is unfair. One user wrote, “Is Manjrekar not seeing Kohli’s stats? How can he leave Kohli out of the list?” As a result, Sanjay Manjrekar started trending on social media.