Former Pakistani cricketer Wasim Akram has chimed in on the ongoing controversy between Virat Kohli and Sunil Gavaskar. The legendary speedster said Kohli should not have responded to the critics, including Gavaskar, who had criticised his low strike rate during the ongoing season of Indian Premier League (IPL).
Referring to both as “greats” of the game, Akram said their contribution to Indian cricket was immense but the altercation could have been avoided.
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“Both are greats. Sunny bhai [brother], as a cricketer, as a human being, I know him off the field. As a commentator, he has been doing it for God knows how many years. And coming to the great man, Virat Kohli, he is a top player, a modern great,” Akram told Sportskeeda.
“In fact, he is an all-time great in history, given the kind of performances he has had. But I think Virat shouldn’t have said that,” he added.
The former Pakistan captain urged both of them to “forget” the incident and move on from it.
“It is the commentators’ job. If he got slow in a couple of matches and he [Gavaskar] said something, forget about it. Virat is not that kind of a person.”
What did Virat say?
Kohli’s spot in the T20 World Cup squad had been subject of intense scrutiny since the start of the IPL season. Despite being the leading run-scorer in the tournament, critics have gone after Kohli, arguing that the former Indian captain did not have the power game to take up a spot in the top order.
However, after playing a match-winning knock against Gujarat Titans last month, Kohli lashed out at the critics.
“I think all the people who talk about strike rates and me not playing spin well are the ones who love talking about this stuff. But, for me, it’s about winning the game for the team. And there is a reason you have done this for 15 years,” said Kohli.
“You have done this, day in and day out. You have won games for your team. And I am not quite sure if you have not been in that situation yourself, to sit and speak about the game from a box,” he added.
Replying to Kohli’s remarks, Gavaskar did not pull any punches and said he will keep questioning anyone whose strike rate is low, opening the innings.
“Commentators questioned only when his strike rate was 118. I’m not too sure. I don’t watch too many matches, so I don’t know what the other commentators have said otherwise. But if you come and open and then have a strike of 118 when you get out in the 14th or the 15th over, I mean, if you want applause for that, that’s a little bit different. That’s different,” said Gavaskar on Star Sports.
Gavaskar continued by saying as experts and as someone who has played the game, they know what they are talking about. He added that experts don’t have agendas and say what they see.
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