The team captain, Rohit Sharma, reacted with a witty grin when inquired about Virat Kohli’s strike rate during the press event for the 2024 T20 World Cup team selection on May 2nd.
The 15-player Indian squad was named recently for the big event. One hot topic was Kohli’s batting speed in the shortest format being an issue. His overall T20I batting speed is very good at 138.15. But sometimes his batting slows down against spin bowlers after the first six overs in some innings.
During the press conference, Rohit Sharma and top selector Ajit Agarkar were taking questions from the media, when one of the reporters raised worries over Kohli’s strike rate. Rohit Sharma smiled cynically when the question was posed.
Here’s a video of the moment:
Following the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)’s most recent match against the Gujarat Titans (GT), in which he struck an unbeaten 70 off 44, Kohli replied vehemently to critiques of his strike rate.
To his credit, the veteran hitter has been on fire in the present IPL, scoring 500 runs at an excellent strike rate of 147.49 in ten games.
“He has been in great form, no concerns there at all” – Ajit Agarkar
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar responded to the question about Virat Kohli’s strike rate by noting that there had been no conversations, despite the champion batter’s amazing form in the IPL 2024.
Virat Kohli is the best player in T20 World Cups. He has scored the most runs ever. Kohli has 1,141 runs in T20 World Cups. His runs come at an average of 81.50.
“We have not been discussing it (Virat Kohli’s strike rate). He has been in great form, no concerns there at all. You are still going to a World Cup, there is still gap there. That’s where experience does matter a lot. If the tournament turns out like the IPL. If 220 (pitch) plays like 220, we have the skills. At the end of the day when you turn up for a World Cup, the pressure is different.”
Ajit Agarkar
The Indian cricket team is aiming to win their second T20 World Cup trophy. They won the first T20 World Cup in 2007. The team led by Rohit Sharma will start their tournament against Ireland on June 5 in New York.