Australian cricketer Steve Smith praised Virat Kohli for his outstanding batting performances during the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Steve Smith pointed out that there’s a lot of pressure on Virat Kohli, and it’s crucial for the rest of the Royal Challengers Bangalore batsmen to step up and support him.
The team from Bangalore hasn’t had the best start this season, with three losses out of four matches, including two losses at their home ground. They’re currently sitting at eighth place in the table with just two points.
Virat Kohli has been the standout performer for his team, carrying the batting lineup almost single-handedly. He’s scored 203 runs in four matches with an impressive average of 67.66 and a strike rate of 140.97, including two half-centuries. He’s currently leading the run charts in the tournament, holding the Orange Cap.
Unfortunately, none of the other RCB batters have managed to reach the 100-run mark yet. Maxwell and du Plessis have contributed 31 and 65 runs, respectively, while Dinesh Karthik follows Kohli with 90 runs. Anuj Rawat hasn’t been able to make much of an impact with the bat, apart from the first match.
Steve Smith stressed the importance of the other key batters stepping up to support Virat Kohli if RCB wants to turn their season around.
“He needs the other key batters to stand up with him, and if they do that, they can turn things around for their season. But, at the moment, they’re not so a lot of pressure is 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’d be putting extra pressure on himself. some of the other top-order and middle-order need to help Virat,” Smith further said.
Smith cautioned that Kohli won’t consistently rack up runs in every game, emphasizing the need for the RCB batsmen to step up their performance.
“He started the campaign really well in the IPL and he needs some support. He’s not going to score runs on every occasion,” he said.
“But, I doubt he’d be thinking that way. I don’t think he’d go out and put extra pressure on himself. He’d just go out and play and see what happens in that game,” Smith further added.
Smith dismissed the critiques directed at Kohli regarding his batting strike-rate, asserting that no other player on the planet possesses Kohli’s adeptness at assessing game situations.
“Virat is an incredible player. What he does really well, and probably better than most people in the world, is (that) he sums up the conditions and the situation of the game and plays accordingly. If he needs to strike big, he does. If he needs to bring it back a little bit and build some partnerships…You don’t need 180 on every ground; 150-160 might be enough on some grounds,” Smith concluded.
