Rajat Patidar batting with Virat Kohli. (FILE photo)Virat Kohli has been part of the Indian Premier League since its inception. He has been part of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and has been the most productive in terms of run scoring over the years for the franchise. Even as the times have transitioned in terms of strike rates in the league, one of the standout features of Kohli has been his ability to keep up with the modern demands of the game.
“It’s not easy, but the good part about Virat is that he is one of the fittest cricketers, and he is open to adapting to a new challenge or something different. He is always open to learning new things,” Pujara said, speaking on Star Sports, pointing to Kohli’s ability to evolve over the years.
“People have been criticizing him in the past that he wasn’t batting at a strike rate of 140-150. Now, if you look at his batting this season, he has answered that question. He has batted at a strike rate of 140-150 and above. So he has evolved as a batter,” he added.
“It doesn’t come naturally. You need to work on it, and even to work on it at this age, when he is 36 and has played the game for such a long time, if you are still willing to learn and make a difference to the team, that shows how big a player he is,” Pujara observed.
Kohli won his first IPL title on Tuesday, earlier this week, after RCB beat Punjab Kings by six runs in the IPL final. “It’s a massive moment in his career. He has achieved a lot in his career, but the one thing he couldn’t achieve in his career for so many years was an IPL title. It shows how much it mattered to him because he was working hard to win this title for many years. He was looking very emotional and the tears coming from his eyes show the importance of an IPL title for a cricketer,” Pujara said.
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