Former Indian player Sanjay Manjrekar has revealed that the improvement in Virat Kohli’s strike rate in the IPL is due to his growth in the role as a batsman for RCB, as he has now started trusting the rest of the players in that batting order.
Royal Challengers Bangalore have also been dominant this season, as they enter the competition as defending champions for the first time in IPL history. They are currently placed second on the points table and have managed to win 6 out of their first eight matches.
We have seen Virat Kohli bat differently – Sanjay Manjrekar
Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has pointed out that great Indian batsman Virat Kohli’s batting style has evolved massively and as a result, he has scored runs with a high strike rate.
After struggling with his poor strike rate in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Kohli gradually started to gain momentum in his innings in 2023 and has been getting better in recent seasons. His strike rate has seen a huge jump since 2024 as he has adapted to modern cricket.
“This, again, is going to anger Virat Kohli fans. We have seen Virat Kohli bat differently, batting brilliantly this season, with a strike rate of 140-150. It is the same Virat Kohli, nothing has changed in him. It is only that he has decided that he will bat faster.
Sanjay Manjrekar told Sportstar, “And why did he take that decision? Because he saw that the pressure was increasing and people were talking about him that he was batting very slow. This strike rate of 150 was 125-130 three-four years ago.”
‘He didn’t trust the lower order batsmen.’ – Sanjay Manjrekar revealed the real reason behind Kohli’s poor strike rate.
Manjrekar believes that Kohli took on extra responsibility for the Royal Challengers as he felt compelled to play an anchor role and do most of the scoring due to a lack of trust in the rest of the batting order.
“It was only because Virat Kohli would hit a four and then take a run or two, because he wanted to extend his innings, and play longer, because he felt he would have to bat most of the time in the innings, and he did not trust the lower-order batsmen.
He said, “RCB changed when Virat Kohli, who was at the top, started batting fast and did not make himself indispensable. That’s when the rest also flourished.”
Kohli’s shocking strike rate in IPL 2026
Like the last few seasons, Virat has once again been invincible with the bat. Despite retiring from the shortest format of the game at the international level, Kohli still challenges modern batsmen in the IPL with his superb run-scoring ability.
Opening the innings for Royal Challengers, he has scored 351 runs in 8 matches this season at an average of 58.50, with two not outs. However, the new feature of his batting this season is his excellent strike rate.
Kohli’s strike rate this season has been around 162.50, which looks impressive considering his standards and the credibility he provides to the team, especially during the chase. He will next be seen in the match against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday.
Also read: Bigger than Bumrah? Mohit Sharma claims Bhuvneshwar Kumar is worth more than Rs 20 crore