Virat Kohli needs to switch gears a lot quicker: Virender Sehwag

Former Indian opening batsman Virender Sehwag is not impressed with the way Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli is pacing his innings in the ongoing 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020). The Bangalore outfit made it to the playoffs of the T20 extravaganza even after registering defeat in their last four games owing to a better run-rate than Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who also have 14 points in 14 games under their belt.

After having a lukewarm start in the tournament, Kohli returned to scoring ways pretty quickly but has failed to speed up his innings in the middle-overs which has been a major concern for RCB. Kohli has scored 460 runs in 14 matches at an average of 46 and a strike rate of 122.01 including three half-centuries. Though he is at a very respectable fifth position in terms of highest run-getter in the league, he hasn’t been at his fluent best.

When Virat Kohli gets out early, his strike rate is not that great: Virender Sehwag
The former explosive opener Sehwag opined on the modern-day great saying that Virat needs to switch gears really fast to help his team win their maiden T20 title. At present, RCB holds the unpleasant record of scoring the least number of runs in the middle overs in IPL 2020. Explaining the reason behind this, Sehwag reckoned that Virat takes 20-25 balls to get set which puts his team in trouble in case he gets out early.

“Virat Kohli needs to switch gears a lot quicker. He takes around 20-25 balls to change gears and then when he gets out, the team gets into trouble,” Sehwag said as quoted by Cricbuzz.

Speaking about RCB’s recent encounter with Delhi Capitals in their last league match, the veteran stated that Virat made just 29 from 24 deliveries at a strike rate of 120, which resulted in his team posting a below-par score of 152.

“This is what happened against Delhi Capitals. If he hadn’t got out, he could have scored 40-ball 70 or 80, which would have led to RCB putting on a respectable total. When he gets out early, his strike rate is not that great. It is just around, 110-120, and then the team seems to be in trouble,” Sehwag added.