Wasim Akram gives his verdict on Virat Kohli's strike rate: 'I feel role of anchor is over'

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Wasim Akram has come to the defence of Virat Kohli and his strike rate in T20 cricket, saying that no one would have raised any question if Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) were winning matches in the IPL 2024.

Recently, Virat Kohli slammed the commentators for talking about his strike rate despite not being in his position ever. He said there was a reason why he was winning matches for his teams for the last 15 years.

Sunil Gavaskar reacted sharply to the comments and said others also have played "a little bit" of cricket, and it was the job of the commentators to speak what they see and feel. He also took a dig at Kohli for talking about the outside noise while claiming he doesn't care about it.

However, Wasim Akram has said that criticism over Virat Kohli's strike rate wasn't fair. Instead he brought his focus to RCB losing matches, and suggested that RCB should build a team keeping in mind the conditions at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

"What criticism is he getting? That his team is losing. If the guy is scoring 100 at 150 strike rate, isn't it fine? If the team had won, there wouldn't have been criticism. Kohli was under pressure when he was captain, and he is under pressure even now. He is scoring, but one player cannot win the match," Wasim Akram told Sportskeeda.

"Criticising him unnecessarily... it's not fair. In the long run, Kohli has a lot of cricket left, RCB will have to think why their performances were so inconsistent even after 16 years. Their batting is still fine, but their bowlers are weak.

"Some people say that the ground is short. But you know that already. Pick players according to that only. It is the same ground where I played a Test in 1987. It's the same ground now," he added.

Akram also shared his view on the role of an 'anchor' in T20 cricket. He said the high-scoring matches in IPL 2024 has made the role of an anchor ineffective.

"If you look at this IPL, it feels like it's over. The way teams are scoring 270s, it looks like it. People are calling an anchor slow even when the strike rate is 150. When you look at the pitches and the performances, it looks like it. You got to hit from the first ball, you can't stop," Akram said.