Virat Kohli Criticizes Critics in Fiery Rant About Sitting and Talking From the Box

Kohli was in fine form once again as he scored an unbeaten 70 off just 44 deliveries, leading Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a 9-wicket victory over Gujarat Titans. After the match, Kohli responded to his critics, stating that he does not pay attention to the talk about his strike rate and that those who have not played cricket at a high level cannot fully understand these situations. He expressed, “Not really, all the people who talk about strike-rates and me not playing spin well are the ones talking about this stuff. For me, it’s about winning the games for the team and there’s a reason why you’ve done it for 15 years, you’ve done this day in and day out, you’ve won games for your teams, I’m not quite sure that if you haven’t been in that situation yourself, to sit and talk about the game in the box.

For me, people can talk about their assumptions day in and day out, but those who have done day in and day out, they know what’s happening and it’s a kind of muscle memory for me now.” Kohli emphasized the team’s determination to improve, saying, “We wanted to step up for ourselves, play for our self-respect. We can’t be playing the way we played in the first half of the tournament, we wanted to see the ball as well, we are attacking way more, the fielders are putting their bodies on the line, that’s the way we want to play.” He acknowledged the team’s recent improvements and highlighted their desire to continue in the same vein, stating, “We haven’t been up to standards so far except the last two games, but we just want to continue the same way, we have a great atmosphere in the dressing room.

We want to play for ourselves, have some self-respect as to why we’re playing at this level and also for the fans who’ve been supporting us.”