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Former Proteas star AB de Villiers heaped praised on Virat Kohli, hailing him as ‘one of the best’ players to ever play the game.
In the ongoing season of the IPL, Kohli is the second-highest run-getter with 500 runs at a strike rate of 147.49 from 10 matches. This includes 46 boundaries and 20 sixes. Kohli is part of the India squad travelling to the Americas for the upcoming T20 World Cup, but he has been heavily criticised for his strike rate.
Talking on his YouTube channel, Kohli’s former teammate de Villiers said he’s fed up of seeing ‘data-driven’ pandits criticising the star batter’s strike rate.
“Virat Kohli, catching criticism about his strike rate. It's been going on for way too long and I am sort of fed up with that now. I'm frustrated to say the least.
“This guy is one of the best players to ever play the game of cricket. He's incredible in the IPL, he plays a certain role for RCB, and I've pretty much had enough of data-driven pundits who keep criticising this man. When you don't really have knowledge of the game. How many games of cricket have you played, how many IPL hundreds have you scored?,” said ABD.
In RCB’s previous encounter against the Gujarat Titans, Kohli made a statement with an unbeaten 70 off 44. The 35-year-old star batter also equalled David Warner’s record of most 500-plus runs in IPL seasons. Both have crossed the mark on seven occasions.