Virat Kohli's strike-rate trial dissected by Dinesh Karthik after IPL 2024: 'Thanks to people like Simon Doull...'

Virat Kohli served a timely reminder about his T20 exploits in the Indian Premier League (IPL) season 2024 as the former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) skipper topped the batting charts in the World Cup year. The former India skipper won the prestigious Orange Cap in a season where RCB made the playoffs. Kohli famously hit back at the criticism surrounding his batting strike rate by capping off a run-fest season in the cash-rich league.

With Kohli facing the heat about his strike rate in the league phase, the former India skipper called out cricket pundits following his impressive knock against Gujarat Titans (GT). Reacting to the series of events, former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull advised Kohli not to fuss over the ‘rubbish’ criticism at the time. Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar also lashed out at broadcasters for repeatedly airing Kohli's on-air rant against the pundits.

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‘Thanks to people like Simon Doull…’

Sharing his views on Cricbuzz, RCB icon Dinesh Karthik credited Doull for 'spurring' Kohli in the IPL 2024. "I can write a book on how he was this year. He started okay but thanks to people like Simon (Doull) and a few others, they just really spurred him on. And you don't want to see that side of Virat Kohli. I think he thrives on that. He is someone who inadvertently wants to hold on to certain things to do well," Karthik said.

Kohli was retained in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup after his remarkable performances in the IPL 2024. The Orange Cap winner smashed 741 runs in 15 innings in the 2024 season. Kohli averaged 61.75. and achieved a strike rate of 154.69 in the IPL 2024. The RCB opener finished the leading run-getter in the IPL for the second time.

'He loves proving people wrong'

Kohli won his first Orange Cap when the batting icon amassed 973 runs in the 2016 season. The RCB batter notched up one hundred and five fifties in the IPL 2024. "He loves proving people wrong, and even though he might not come out and say it, it really fuels his passion and he's like a molten lava coming out. He's fiery and you don't want to be anywhere close to it because you're going to get burnt for sure because he's done this time and time again," Karthik added.