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Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) assistant coach Malolan Rangarajan has said that their in-form opener Virat Kohli does not need to do anything extra in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Kohli has often been criticised for his strike rate but Rangarajan said that the 36-year-old is a 'genius' who has to take his own decisions as he is constantly looking to improve. He pointed out that it wasn't just Kohli whose strike rate was not as per desired norms but others as well.
"It wasn't only Virat last season who was not batting at the desired strike-rate. It was the whole team. So I think the whole team got together. They were very honest about it, and I'm sure you guys have heard this like a broken record where we said we were very honest together inside a room, and that's precisely what happened. That's part one," he said in the pre-match press conference.
"Part two is about Virat Kohli as an individual does not need to go and practise extra. He's batted for 20-25 years. He's a genius. He just has to decide what he wants to do and how he wants to take down a particular bowler. And it's very evident that someone like Virat, even after having played for so long, he's constantly looking at.
"What more he can do, which to me is unbelievable, the attitude with which he comes into every training session, every match. So with that, I don't think he did anything specifically physically," he added.
Rangarajan also talked about RCB being prepared for the second half of the league stage. RCB are currently placed third on the points table with six wins from nine games. They will take on Delhi Capitals (DC) in their 10th clash of the season. The last time they locked horns, DC beat RCB as KL Rahul scored an unbeaten 93 in the run chase.
"It was just the group coming together and acknowledging the fact that we weren't good enough last year, but we've not had any sort of conversation this year. We know what we can do, what we can't do. Like I had alluded to a little earlier. This is the part of the tournament that we've been prepping for a while, the second half of the tournament, so we're very excited about it and I can feel the optimism across the group through the staff, everybody involved. So I think that's what is holding us and Virat to your in good stead," said Rangarajan.
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Kohli's strike rate compared to previous season
Kohli is a contender for the orange cap again. He has scored 392 runs from nine innings at an average of 65.33, including five half-centuries. His strike rate is 144.11. In the RCB side, Phil Salt (168.30), Devdutt Padikkal (156.46) and captain Rajat Patidar (148.99) have a better strike rate than Kohli.
In the previous season, he scored 741 runs from 15 innings at an average of 61.75 and strike rate of 154.69.
Kohli's record aginst DC
Kohli has a good record against DC with 1,079 runs from 29 innings at an average of 49.04, including 10 half-centuries.
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