'He feels obligated to bat long because of his stature' - Sanjay Manjrekar expresses concern about Virat Kohli in knockout clashes

Virat Kohli has been under the radar as many cricket pundits have raised concerns over his depleting strike rate in T20Is. Kohli was the Orange Cap holder in the recently concluded Indian Premier League 2024. But the questions surrounding his strike rate remained the talk of the town. After he notched up a century in the IPL 2024, former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar came hard at him for his subpar strike rate. For the unversed, Kohli took 72 balls and scored 113 runs against Rajasthan Royals.

Joining the fray is former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, as he dissected that during crunch games the anchor in Kohli dominates the free-spirited batter. The concerns rose after Kohli registered 50 off 40 balls against England in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final, which India eventually lost. Manjrekar’s thoughts stem from the fact that the star India batter fails to accelerate when the onus falls upon him during tough times.

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“The only worry, come the big game (semis and final), Virat will take it upon himself. You see that happening in all the big games; he feels obligated to bat longer due to the kind of stature he has in Indian cricket, to bat longer rather than bat freely. Rohit Sharma will do that (bat freely), no matter his stature; we saw that in the 50-over World Cup (2023). I’m worried about Virat Kohli when it comes to semis and finals,” Manjrekar said in the Star Sports Press Room Show.

I don’t think there is a role for an anchor in T20 cricket: Manjrekar

Speaking of the anchor role, Kohli and KL Rahul were seen donning the same role in the World Cup 2023 finals against Australia. None of the batters accelerated in the middle and settled for singles and doubles. With T20 cricket demanding hammer and tongs from the batters, Manjrekar emphasised that the format does have room for an anchor role.

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“I don’t think there is a role for an anchor in T20 cricket, especially if you are batting first. If you are going to respect a bowler because you have lost a couple of wickets and you miss out on a couple of easy overs, that damage is permanent,” he added.