IPL 2024: AB de Villiers slams cricket pundits for criticising Virat Kohli

Following the performances of Virat Kohli in the IPL 2024 former South African batsman AB de Villiers slammed the datadriven pundits for criticising the Indian stalwart for his strike rate outside powerplayIn the ongoing IPL 2024 Kohli is having a great run for Royal Challengers Bengaluru The veteran has already scored 500 runs at a strike rate of 147 and an average of 77 So far he is in second place in the ongoing leagues list of top scorersKohli is also criticised for his inability to take charge against spinner which de Villiers disagrees De Villiers termed Kohli as one of the best players to have played the game saying it was not wise for datadriven pundits to comment on the stalwartVirat Kohli catching criticism about his strike rate its been going on for too long and I am sort of fed up with that now I am frustrated to say the least This guy is one of the best players to have ever played the game of cricket He is incredible in the IPL he plays a certain role for RCB the South African said on his YouTube channelAlso ReadPakistan brings back Haris Rauf ahead of Ireland England T20I seriesI have pretty much enough of datadriven pundits who keep criticising this man Kohli when you dont have the knowledge of the game How many games you played How many IPL hundreds you scoredAll the people who talk about strike rates and not playing spin well are the ones talking about this stuff For me its about winning the games for the team and there is a reason why you have done it for 15 years you have done this day in and day out you have won games for your teamsDe Villiers feel Kohli has nothing to prove to anyone and should just concentrate on his game I am quite sure that if you havent been been in that situation yourself to sit and talk about the game its not quite the same thing 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 whats happening and its a kind of muscle memory for me nowHis strike rate by the way this season is even better than the recordbreaking season he had not so long ago 2016 season So I dont know where the criticism is coming from He is batting like a dream at the moment he saidDe Villiers support came after Kohli had lashed out at his critics following his 44ball unbeaten 70 in RCBs ninewicket win over Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad in their previous gameThe former South African batter however feels Kohli is best suited at the No3 position for RCB Virat has successfully batted with a proven formula that has brought victories for the team The rest of the squad including the coach and captain need to strategise around Virats successful approach Personally I still believe Virat is best suited for number three in the batting orderThough he loves opening and has an incredible record doing so batting him at three would optimise this teams lineup with Will Jacks and Faf du Plessis opening Putting Virat at three would give the openers the best opportunity to get off to a fast start he addedWith PTI Inputs