Virat Kohli is in a great touch in IPL 2023– scoring four half-centuries already in just six innings. However, the former RCB captain has been criticized immensely for his poor strike rate. Talking on this matter, former English cricketer Michael Vaughan has made a blistering remark comparing Kohli with young Shubman Gill.
In conversation with Cricbuzz, Vaughan launched an attack on KL Rahul, who has had a strike rate of a tick above 100 in the powerplay this season. He said:
“In Tests, he is a beautiful player. I have no doubts about him in ODIs. But in T20 cricket in this era I do have a doubt about him. I think he can take more risks. A lot of Indian players take a lot of balls to get in. But in modern cricket you almost got to go because now you have a batting line-up to almost 9 or 10 and in some cases even 11.”
“Previously the target would be to get almost 50 in the first six and that would be a decent start but with the kind of cricket that is being played targeting 70 is not put of the realms. If I was part of the Indian team I would be looking at the likes of Shubman Gill, who is younger, fearless and can play aggressive cricket. If someone could have said to KL Rahul that all we want is to make that shift to at least fourth gear quicker.”
Vaughan then mentioned about Kohli and warned him about the competition he is likely to face from young batters like Gill in the Indian line-up.
“People have been talking about Kohli’s strike rate as well and has been targetting him because he is that good. He can easily pump up his strike rate. It’s not criticism but it is giving him that belief to go on. If I was him I would have been looking at some of the youngers players like Gill and say, ‘wait a minute, they are chasing me down the rails’,” he explained.