IPL 2023: Virat Kohli responds to Simon Doull’s strike rate remark, says anchor role in T20s still important

After being subjected to criticism for his strike rate, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter Virat Kohli has responded and said that the ‘anchor role’ in T20s is still important.
This response from Kohli came after former cricketer and commentator Simon Doull’s remark on his strike rate during the RCB vs LSG contest in Bangalore.
“Yeah for sure (important anchor role). I completely agree with that, There are many people who because they have not been in that situation themselves, they look at the game differently. Suddenly when the power play is done, they will be like ‘oh, they have started rotating the strike,” said Kohli during an interview with Robin Uthappa on JioCinema.
Earlier, Doull on air said, “Kohli was concerned about a personal milestone. He took 10 balls to score eight runs.”
“Started off like a train, took 10 balls from 42-50 runs,” he added.
While Kohli in the match, hit a fine half-century to power Royal Challengers Bangalore to 212/2. He took the centre stage with his 44-ball 61-run knock, as he shared a 96-run stand for the first wicket after being sent into bat.
He was batting on 42, which is also the most Kohli inside Powerplay in an IPL game. But from thereon he took 10 balls to reach his fifty.
Decoding the batting team’s mindset, Kohli said that players try to figure out the situation in the initial overs of the game.

“When you haven’t lost a wicket in the powerplay, usually the best player comes on to bowl, you are trying to figure out what to do against him in the first two overs, so that you can get big ones in the last two overs of that guy and then rest of the innings become much easier,” he explained.