New Delhi: South African batting great AB de Villiers believes Virat Kohli should focus on playing smart cricket and continue controlling the game this season as RCB possess immense firepower with Phil Salt expected to ease the pressure on the Indian superstar.
Despite being one of RCB’s most consistent performers, Kohli’s strike rate was a topic of discussion past two seasons.
However, with the Bengaluru franchise acquiring the English duo of Salt and Liam Livingstone, along with Australian Tim David and West Indian Romario Shepherd — all fearless strikers of the ball — de Villiers feels Kohli can play with more freedom.
“Virat seems to be enjoying his cricket. I don’t think he’s going to have to up his strike rate batting with Phil Salt,” de Villiers said on JioStar Press Room on Tuesday.
“Salt is one of the most attacking players we’ve ever seen. I think he’s going to take a lot of pressure off Virat. Virat needs to continue what he’s been doing for so many years…control the game, play smart cricket. He’s got the best instinct of any player out there. He knows when to up the ante a bit and when to lower it.”
The South African, who played for RCB for 11 seasons, said Kohli needs to ensure there are no batting collapses.
“Virat needs to be the captain of the batting department in this tournament and really just keep things together, play smart cricket to make sure they don’t find those collapses in the batting order.”
The former Proteas skipper feels that Kohli has been subjected to “unnecessary criticism over the last few seasons”.
“There’s no doubt some of the outside noise has maybe influenced him a bit. He’s only human, he’s definitely got those doubts in his head.
“But the one thing about Virat is that he’s always had the ability to, when it matters most, when he crosses that line for his team, block everything out and it’s business time.”
With Faf du Plessis’ departure, RCB enters the season with a new captain in Rajat Patidar.
De Villiers opined that Patidar’s biggest challenge would be dealing with self-doubt while stepping into the shoes of past captains like du Plessis and Kohli.
“His biggest challenge will be insecurity, stepping into the big boots of the past captains like Faf and Virat.. having Virat around and constantly almost doubting yourself.
“He needs to stay true to who he is and not try to captain like Virat or like Faf. And use the experience of Virat, use the experience of Andy Flower and some of the other players.”
RCB will be on the road consistently throughout the season, frequently alternating between home and away fixtures.
“Their scheduling is going to be a big obstacle. The team is balanced and that bodes well for them, especially with their scheduling, where they hop around to different venues all the time, right throughout the tournament. They’ve got the trickiest schedule of them all.”
Despite this challenge, de Villiers believes RCB has a strong and balanced squad.
“They’re only lacking an X-factor spinner, right? Krunal Pandya is a wonderful spinner. We’ve seen him over the years perform very consistently and he can chip in with the bat as well. They have some other options as well.
“But I mean, look at that batting lineup. It is pure power. There’s a mix between power and also control.”