Former South African cricketer AB de Villiers has come to the defense of Indian batter Virat Kohli, criticizing “data-driven pundits” who have been criticizing Kohli’s strike rate in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
De Villiers, who played alongside Kohli for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), praised Kohli as one of the greatest players to ever play the game. He said that Kohli’s role in the RCB team is to play a certain way, and that he has been “incredible” in that role.
“Virat Kohli, catching criticism about his strike rate. It’s been going on for way too long and I am sort of fed up with that now. I’m frustrated to say the least. This guy is one of the best players to ever play the game of cricket. He’s incredible in the IPL, he plays a certain role for RCB, and I’ve pretty much had enough of data-driven pundits who keep criticizing this man. When you don’t really have knowledge of the game. How many games of cricket have you played, how many IPL hundreds have you scored?,” De Villiers said on his official YouTube channel.
Kohli has been in good form in the IPL this season, scoring 500 runs at a strike rate of 147.49 in 10 matches. He has hit 46 fours and 20 sixes.
In RCB’s previous match against Gujarat Titans, Kohli scored a quick-fire 70* to help his team to victory. He also achieved a landmark feat during the match, becoming the second player to score 24 half-centuries while chasing a target in the IPL.
De Villiers’ comments come after Kohli has been criticized by some for his relatively low strike rate in the IPL. However, De Villiers believes that Kohli’s strike rate is not a fair measure of his contribution to the team.
“I think it’s important to look at the context of the game. What is the team’s strategy? What is the player’s role in the team? And what is the player’s strengths and weaknesses?,” De Villiers said.
“In Virat’s case, he is a player who is very good at playing the anchor role. He can come in and stabilize the innings, and he can also accelerate when needed. He is also a very good fielder and a great leader. So, I think it’s important to look at all of these factors when evaluating a player’s performance,” De Villiers added.
