IPL 2021: Virat Kohli’s natural game is to get momentum in powerplay, strike rates are overrated – Gautam Gambhir

IPL 2021: Gautam Gambhir said that the presence of Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers allows Virat Kohli to play his natural game in T20 cricket, which is to gain momentum in the powerplays and then drop anchor. Kohli has scored 357 runs at a strike rate of 121.42 this season in 12 matches. (Courtesy of BCCI)HIGHLIGHTSGambhir said that Kohli’s pacing will also be dependent on the conditionsGambhir also said that strike rates are overrated in T20sHe said that Kohli plays a different role in the team compared to someone like MaxwellRoyal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli tends to slow down after the powerplay in the Indian Premier League (IPL) because he is mostly batting with Glenn Maxwell or AB de Villiers at the other end after that and prefers to play the role of an anchor while they play the big shots, said Gautam Gambhir.

The former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain also said that while Kohli’s pacing of his innings will be dependent on the conditions, gaining momentum in the powerplay and then dropping anchor is the India skipper’s natural game in T20 cricket.”(It) depends on the wicket and I believe the reason is Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers. He feels that those two guys can accelerate and he can play an anchor role in the second half, which he has done really well,” Gambhir said on ESPNCricinfo.”That’s probably why he prefers to open the batting, get momentum in the first six overs and then continue batting while someone else from the other end can accelerate. That is his natural game, but if he goes out of that, it will be difficult for him to score a lot of runs because he doesn’t have the same power or skill as AB de Villiers or, for that matter, Glenn Maxwell. But look, you need all kinds of players in your eleven and Virat Kohli is world class, no doubt about that,” he said.Kohli has a strike rate of nearly over 145 batting in the powerplay this season in the IPL but that drops off to less than 90 in the middle overs. However, Gambhir said that strike rates are an overrated quantum in T20s and the role that Kohli and a player like Maxwell plays are different.”Strike rates are very overrated. You can expect Kohli to have a 600-run season but you cannot expect that from Maxwell, and you can never have Maxwell batting at a (strike rate of) 120-125 and expect Kohli to be batting on 160. So both of them are different and it’s a combination of everyone that makes a successful side,” said Gambhir.Click here for our site’s complete coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.