'Helpless' Virat Kohli sends out strong message to critics; hints at ABD return

A lot of suggestions have been made by former cricketers to the out-of-form Virat Kohli. While some including Ravi Shastri and Kevin Pietersen have advised him to take a break from the game, the man himself says he doesn’t pay attention to critics and when they speak, he mutes the TV.

It has been an unusual IPL season for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batsman Kohli. He has collected three golden ducks, the latest was on Sunday (May 8) against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). This had never happened before in the history of IPL.

Also read: Forever I will be with RCB, asserts Kohli

After 12 games, the 33-year-old former skipper has managed to score just one half-century (58) and his tally is 216 runs at an average of 19.63 and a strike rate of 111.34.

In a light-hearted RCB Insider show interview, Kohli opened up about his first-ball dismissals and other things including AB de Villiers’ likely return in 2023.

The host Danish Sait aka “Mr. Nags” asks Kohli whether he loves pets and the former India captain answers in the affirmative before adding that he and his wife Anushka Sharma don’t have any pets at home as they don’t have time to take care of them.

Podcast: ‘Kohli’s best friend becoming his worst enemy’

To this, Sait jokes that recently everybody saw on TV that he got “two ducks” referring to the successive golden ducks.

“That too first-ball ducks,” a laughing Kohli says covering his face with both hands.

“Absolutely helpless. It hasn’t happened to me ever in my career, I think. That is why I smiled. Because I felt like I’ve seen everything now. It’s been so long that I’ve seen everything this game has to show me,” a smiling Kohli said.

When the host says “these commentators are also not giving you a chance…”, Kohli replies, “They can’t be in my shoes, they can’t feel what I feel, they can’t live my life, they can’t live those moments. How do you cut out the noise? You either mute the TV or don’t listen to or pay attention to what people are saying. I do both of these things.”

Also read: Shastri’s advice for Kohli

Kohli was also asked whether he misses his good friend and former RCB teammate AB de Villiers. To this, he said, “I miss him a lot. I speak to him regularly, quite regularly. He keeps messaging me. He was in the US recently watching golf (Augusta Masters). He told me he was experiencing it with friends and family. We stay in touch.”

Also read: Kohli is ‘overcooked’, says Shastri

Kohli hinted that de Villiers will be back with RCB in some capacity. “He is very keenly obviously watching RCB and hopefully here next year in some capacity.”

Interview of the year! Catch Virat Kohli in a relaxed, honest and fun avatar, even as Mr. Nags tries to annoy him just like he’s done over the years. 😎🤙

Tell us what the best moment from this interview was for you, in the comments section. 👨‍💻#PlayBold #IPL2022 #RCB #ನಮ್ಮRCB pic.twitter.com/vV6MyRDyRt

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) May 11, 2022