'Lobby running agenda' - Childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma lashes out at Virat Kohli's strike rate critics

Virat Kohli’s childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma strongly condemned critics who targeted the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) batter over his strike rate in the IPL 2024 clash against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Jaipur. Kohli scored an unbeaten 113 off 72 deliveries at a strike rate of 156.94 to take RCB to 183 runs. It is worth noting that RR successfully chased the target and won the game by six wickets, marking RCB's fourth loss in the ongoing tournament.

Sharma expressed frustration at those who criticised Kohli's strike rate, dismissing their remarks as "nonsense". He emphasized that the 35-year-old's popularity often leads to unwarranted scrutiny, with people seeking attention by discussing him.

Also read: 'One of the finest hundreds of his career' - Ambati Rayudu hails Virat Kohli for 'selfless' knock against RR

“A few people who are talking this nonsense, I think they don’t know the context of the match, what was the situation of the match and how the team was struggling. They only speak to get into the news; simply because whenever you speak about any ordinary player, it doesn’t get you placed in the news headlines but if you speak about a player like Virat Kohli, it gets you in the headlines of the newspapers,” Sharma said while speaking with ‘Indian Sports Fans’ founder Sunil Yash Kalra on India News.

Sharma was later questioned about the identity of the critics—whether they were editors, former cricketers, or experts who were attacking Kohli for his perceived slow approach. He responded that it was simply a lobby pushing an agenda.

Also read: 'I was inaccurate in my choice of words' - Ian Bishop apologizes to fan for praising Virat Kohli after his half century against RR

“See, it is a lobby that is running an agenda; they are just driving an agenda, and we as the fans or true analysts don’t give a damn about their agenda. See, the King will always be king. The person who knows even the ‘C’ of cricket will never talk any nonsense like this," he added.