India is home to many of the world’s religions but the one that almost all of the Indians follow is cricket. Subcontinent generally and India specifically teems with aficionados of the game, who are as passionate about the sport as one can get. However, these emotions do not always breed positives as can be understood by the recent statement Simon Doull gave. The former New Zealand pacer revealed that he received death threats from the cricket-mad country for something as trivial as difference of opinions.
Doull, who was one of the commentators in the Indian Premier League, criticized Indian batter Virat Kohli for his failure to strike at a rate that matches the trends of modern-day cricket. Although the Indian batter ended the tournament with a strike rate of just a tick below 155, he failed to accelerate in a few games and succumbed to his natural style of play. This triggered the good old ‘strike rates debate’ across the cricket world.
While many criticized Kohli heavily for failing to score at a higher rate, a lot of sane voices, including Simon Doull, turned their attention toward constructive criticism. Apparently the fans of Virat Kohli in India could not see through him and responded in the worst way possible. Talking about his unfortunate happening, Simon said,
‘He is too good to worry about getting out and that was always my point. I have said a thousand great things about Virat Kohli but I say one thing negative or construed to be negative, and I get death threats. That’s the shame of it.’
It’s not the first time that Simon Doull has expressed his point of view apropos to the importance of strike rate in T20 cricket. Last year, he passed similar remarks on Pakistan captain Babar Azam’s approach as well. He even went on to have a conversation with the Pakistan star batter about his slow batting woes. Talking about that conversation he said,
‘It is the same thing I said about Babar and I had a chat with him after I talked about it in Pakistan and he said that his coaches told him the same thing,’
Recalling having a similar conversation with Kohli, the former New Zealand cricketer said that such remarks are not personal attacks but rather an attempt to constructively critique a player.
“There has never been an issue and I would never have a reason to have personal problems. When I look at the game and the way it has moved, particularly with the impact sub, a strike rate of 130-135 didn’t cut it any more,”
Virat Kohli is one of, if not the, most popular cricketers in the world. He is known as the orchestrator behind the greatest knock ever played in T20Is. However, slow strike rates have always been his Achilles’ heel. He has maintained a strike rate of almost 138 throughout his career, a number far from the threatful potential he possesses. It remains to be seen how he plans to churn out runs with his willow during the upcoming T20 World Cup because if there is one thing that is certain in a game full of uncertainties it is that there is nothing more pleasant to the ears than hearing the bat do the talking.
