Virat Kohli is “under a lot of pressure” in the ongoing IPL due to the collective failure of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru batters, believes former Australia captain Steve Smith, who wants the Indian superstar’s RCB teammates to perform well in the supporting programme. Kohli has been fighting a lonely battle for RCB this IPL season with 203 runs in four matches at 67.66 with two fifties. The next best batsman, Dinesh Karthik, is far behind with 90 runs in as many matches.
Despite Kohli’s consistency, RCB faltered with three defeats in four matches, dropping them to eighth spot in the points table. The likes of Glenn Maxwell, skipper Faf du Plessis and Cameron Green have been disappointing with the bat so far.
“He needs the other key hitters to be next to him, and if they do that, they can turn things around for their season. But right now, there isn’t that much pressure on Virat,” Smith, a member of the Star Sports Incredible Star Cast, told PTI in an exclusive interaction at the channel’s studio here.
“I doubt he would put extra pressure on himself. But some of the other top and middle order batsmen have to help Virat,” he said.
Smith warned that Kohli is not going to score runs in every match and RCB batters need to get their act together.
“He started the campaign very well in the IPL and he needs some support. He won’t score runs on every occasion,” he said.
“But I doubt he would think that way. I don’t think he would go out there and put extra pressure on himself. He would just go out there and play and see what happens in that game.” Smith dismissed the criticism that Kohli has faced time and again in his career over his strike rate, saying that no player in the world can read situations as well as the Indian batsman. Kohli has reached 140 in this year’s IPL.
“Virat is an incredible player. What he does very well, and probably better than most people in the world, is he takes the circumstances and the situation of the game and plays accordingly,” he said.
“If he needs to strike big, he will. If he needs to scale it back a bit and build some partnerships… You don’t need 180 in all areas; in some areas 150-160 may be enough,” says he. added.
“Virat sums up the circumstances and the situation very well. I’m not concerned about the number of strikes,” Smith continued.
Smith also touched on another controversial subplot in the IPL: Hardik Pandya’s captaincy of Mumbai Indians and the fan backlash he faces. He understands why Pandya has been jeered in all three matches so far, but also wants fans to stop clinging to the past.
“Yes and no. Obviously in the first two games there was that booing. It’s becoming a bit of a thing, if that makes sense. But it was a shame, I think. I would like to do it.” see them supporting Hardik. There are obviously a lot of big Rohit fans,” he said.
“A lot of people are a bit annoyed that he is not the captain of the side. But everyone has to let that go and support Hardik. He is a great player. He had a lot of success with Gujarat (Titans). He is back (as) captain now of the team in Mumbai.
“The senior players have to help him,” Smith said.
Smith was the subject of intense international scrutiny as Australia captain in 2018 after ball-tampering in Cape Town, which saw him banned for a year. Smith shared some insights on what it takes to come out.
“Even though all this negativity is there, he has to find ways to deal with it and coping mechanisms,” Smith said.
“Everyone is different in the way they do it. For me personally, I just block everything out. I don’t listen to anything; I don’t listen to commentary, or booing, or anything like that.
“It’s hard to say, but you just have to let it happen. Block it as much as you can, and just keep doing your job. I think the best way for him to change people is if Mumbai Start Winning, that’s the most important thing,” Smith said.
However, Smith rejected suggestions that off-field drama has been a factor in MI’s three successive losses.
“One thing about Mumbai Indians is that they are notoriously bad starters in the tournament. They have done it on numerous occasions,” he said.
“I don’t think they are too worried. But they will have to turn things around very quickly. It doesn’t look good, 0-3 at the bottom of the table. They have to turn things around.” very quickly,” he added.
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