New Delhi, India
Virat Kohli has not quite managed to hit his top form for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 so far. Kohli has played two brilliant knocks of unbeaten 41 and 48 against Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians respectively but is yet to notch up a big innings this season.
Kohli has scored 107 runs in the first five games for RCB and is yet to score his first half-century in the tournament. The former RCB skipper has been enduring a lean patch in international cricket for a while now as he has not scored a hundred across all three formats since November 2019.
By Kohli's standards, he has not enjoyed great form with the bat over the last couple of years despite having scored runs consistently. He was expected to spark a turnaround in the ongoing IPL 2022 but has failed to attain consistency. so far this season. Amid his average run with the willow, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has raised concerns over Kohli's spot in the playing XI.
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Akhtar believes even a player of Kohli's player won't be spared and can be dropped from the team if he can perform consistently. Akhtar said people have already started pointing fingers at Kohli and suggested him to just focus on improving his game.
âIt's a performance-based IPL franchise model. No one will be spared, not even Virat Kohli. Even he can be dropped if he does not perform. Some of the things I can't even say now. Not one but there are 10,000 things going on in his head," Akhtar said on Sportskeeda.
"He is a good person, a good player and great cricketer, but I want him to just focus, on one thing at a time. Consider yourself as an ordinary player, pick up your bat and just play. People have already started pointing fingers at Virat Kohli and it's dangerous,â he added.
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Kohli will be looking to be among the runs and play an impactful knock for his side in RCB's clash against Delhi Capitals at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.