‘Eat That!’ AB de Villiers Slams Critics of Virat Kohli’s Strike Rate, Highlights Gavaskar and Sehwag Remarks

AB de Villiers Slams Critics of Virat Kohli: AB de Villiers took on the critics of Virat Kohli after the latter played a 33-ball 62-run knock against Chennai Super Kings during Royal Challengers' 2-run win at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, May 3.

Kohli, who opened the innings with Jacob Bethell, batted at a strike rate of 187.88 to provide RCB with a quickfire start. He and Bethell (55 off 33 balls) shared a 97-run partnership. Kohli was aggressive in his approach and smacked the CSK bowlers around the park for five sixes and as many fours to decorate his innings.

After Kohli's magnificent knock, de Villiers, a former teammate of Kohli at RCB, blasted the likes of Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag, who had criticised the Indian batter, terming him too slow for T20 cricket.

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In a video shared on Instagram, he showed past criticisms from Gavaskar and Sehwag, who had previously questioned Kohli’s strike rate. Sehwag had notably criticised Kohli for scoring the joint-slowest century in IPL history, suggesting he should have accelerated after reaching his half-century. Gavaskar, too, had engaged in a well-documented back-and-forth with Kohli over his scoring pace.

"Virat is always there. He is Mr. Safety for RCB. When he is there, you don't have to fear. Never fear when Virat is near. That is the story. Nothing has ever changed, and what I want to tell all of you media people, I haven't forgotten. I have the brain of an elephant. To all my journalist friends out there, I love you guys. But remember when you said Virat bats too slow, right? Virat is there batting at almost a 200 strike rate last night. Eat that," he said.

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Kohli’s performance this season has been nothing short of stellar. He has surpassed the 500-run mark in an IPL season for a record eighth time, amassing 505 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 143.47. His tally of seven fifty-plus scores is his third-best in an IPL season, following 11 such scores in 2016 and eight in 2023. This dominance has placed him at the forefront of the Orange Cap race, narrowly leading over Gujarat Titans’ Sai Sudharsan.

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