"He had done exactly what his team needed from him": De Villiers on Virat Kohli

Former South Africa cricketer AB de Villiers hailed Team India stalwart Virat Kohli for stepping out of his comfort zone during the last season of the IPL The South African stated that winning the IPL title with Royal Challengers Bengaluru RCB would be a perfect finishing touch to his legendary careerRCB will kickstart their IPL 2025 campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders KKR on March 22 at the Eden Gardens The Challengers will be hunting for their first ever title win which would mean a lot for Virat Kohli who has been representing the same team since 2008Speaking exclusively on JioHotstar AB recalled the criticism Virat Kohli received for his strike rate in the initial stages of the competition calling it ridiculousThe scrutiny over Virats strike rate was absolutely ridiculous He had done exactly what his team needed from him It is all about the situation When he has someone at the other end he trusts you see him experiment and play with more freedom But when thats not the case he stays true to his natural gameanchoring the innings when needed said AB on JioHotstarIn the first six matches of the season Virat scored 319 runs at an average of 7975 with a century and two fifties but his strike rate of around 141 generated immense criticism from fans and experts who felt that his more cautious approach especially against spin held RCB backAlso ReadIndia have real clarity on how they want to operate in Dubai Kane WilliamsonHowever Virat responded back with immense improvements against spin utilisation of slog sweep against them and hitting more sixes In next nine matches he scored 422 runs at an average of 5275 with three halfcenturies However his strike rate skyrocketed to around 166 marking a massive improvement He ended the season with 38 sixes on par with his best season of 2016 season when he scored 952 runs with four centuries and seven fifties His attacking approach played a key role in RCB turning a new leaf in their campaign after just one win in first eight matches winning the next six on bounce to make it to the playoffs where they lost to Rajasthan Royals RR in the eliminatorVirat Kohli concluded the IPL 2024 as the highest runscorer Having played 15 matches the righthander garnered 741 runs with an average of 6175 and a strike rate of 15469 He had one century and five halfcenturies to his nameHowever AB hailed him for stepping out of his comfort zone and trying new shotsHe has always had that ability in him You can see how much it means to him Winning the IPL with RCB would be the perfect finishing touch to his already phenomenal career He was outstanding last season His strike rate was not the problemhe played exactly the role his team needed him to Unlike someone like Fraser McGurk for Delhi Capitals Virat had the responsibility of holding the innings together He deserves full credit for playing a crucial role in RCBs qualification he addedEven former South African captain Graeme Smith agreed that the criticism on Virats strike rate was unfairHe had singlehandedly carried RCBs batting lineup which is a massive responsibility especially when others around him were not delivering he addedFormer New Zealand batter Scott Styris also said that Virats strike rate was not an issue during the powerplay but after it during the middle oversFormer Australian allrounder Shane Watson also added on Virat Kohlis T20 game saying He knew that if he doesnt increase his scoring rate if he does not allow himself more freedom at the crease instead of playing it safe he risks being left behind in the modern T20 gameFormer Team India cricketer Robin Uthappa who played alongside Virat Kohli said that growth is a natural of his journeyIt was never a question of if but when he would integrate shots like the slog sweep into his game he concludedWith ANI Inputs