CSK vs RCB, IPL 2025: Mentor Dinesh Karthik Hails Virat Kohli's Eagerness to Learn, Backs Team to Tackle Spin

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) mentor and batting coach Dinesh Karthik is in awe of stalwart Virat Kohli's eagerness to still improve and also backed the team to tackle the spin challenge of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Friday's IPL 2025 match in Chennai.

Since 2023, Kohli's strike rate has hovered around 120 when facing slower bowlers, drawing criticism from experts and fans. However, his former teammate and current RCB mentor Karthik downplayed Kohli's struggle against tweakers.

"He is coming off some serious runs in the Champions Trophy. He has batted well against spin in the recent past, especially in white-ball cricket. In the Champions Trophy, he had a good tournament and that does not come without playing spin because in Dubai, as you all know, how well it helped the spinner. So, I believe, right now, he is batting as well as he ever has," Karthik said at the pre-match conference.

Kohli, who is one of the four players present from the first edition of the IPL in the ongoing season, has been a serial run-getter over the years in the lucrative league. Since last season, Kohli has worked on adding the slog sweep to his armoury against spinners. Karthik was in awe of the seasoned campaigners willingness to learn.

"I spoke to him just now as I came out and he said that he wanted to work on one more shot. At this point of time, to work on one more shot tells you the hunger he has. He wants to just improve and keep raising the bar. He's a special player. The way I see it, he's batting as confidently and as well as he has ever done in IPL," Karthik added.

CSK is expected to bank on their spinners Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Noor Ahmad to stifle out RCB's explosive batting threat, especially their overseas batters in Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone. Karthik, however, put faith in his batters to ace the spin test that awaits them at Chepauk.

"One of our strengths is the way we play spin. And as the tournament unfolds you see it happen. CSK have three very good spinners but we also have very competent batters who we trust. One of the reasons why we picked them is how well we play spin," Karthik said ahead of CSK vs RCB.