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2 min readApr 29, 2026 04:16 PM IST
Virat Kohli of Royal Challengers Bengaluru celebrates after scoring a fifty during Match 1 of the TATA Indian Premier League 2026 between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, India, on March 28, 2026. (CREIMAS for IPL)
Former cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has said that Virat Kohli’s uptick in his strike rate has come from a realisation that there was enough batting below him to take the mantle should he lose his wicket.
Manjrekar also said that his words would rile up Kohli fans and then added that the Indian batter started to boost his strike rate because of the criticism he was facing around it.
“This is, again, going to rile up Virat Kohli fans. We have seen Virat Kohli bat differently, bat superbly this season – at a strike rate of 140-150. This is the same Virat Kohli; there is nothing that has changed,” said Manjrekar to Sportstar.
“It is only that he has decided that he is going to bat quicker. And why has he decided that? Because he could see the pressure building and people talking about him batting a little too slowly,” he added.
Kohli has 351 runs this season at a strike rate slightly north of 160 – higher than his career T20 average of 133. Part of the new strategy has been to trust the batters coming in below him and not feeling he has the need to anchor an innings, according to Manjrekar.
“This 150 strike-rate was 125-130 three to four years back. It was only because Virat Kohli would hit a boundary and then pick up a one or a two. After all, he wanted to extend his innings and play longer because he felt he had to be the man to bat for most of the innings and didn’t trust the batters down the order,” Manjrekar said.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru have enjoyed a decent start to their campaign to defend the Indian Premier League crown, having won six of their first eight games and doing so with the highest net run rate in the league. Their only two losses have come against the Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals.
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