"Batted superbly": EX-India batter shuts down strike rate critics, hails Virat Kohli’s stunning IPL 2026 form

Sanjay Manjrekar, the former Indian player, has pointed out that Virat Kohli's improving strike rate in the IPL is due to his evolution in the role of a batter for RCB, as he has now started to rely on the rest of the players in that batting order.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru have truly dominated this season as well, as they entered the competition as the defending champions for the first time in the history of the IPL. They are currently second on the points table and have managed to win 6 of their first eight games.

We have seen Virat Kohli bat differently- Sanjay Manjrekar

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has pointed out that Virat Kohli, the legendary Indian batter, has undergone a massive evolution to his batting style, and as a result of that, he has scored runs with a higher strike rate.

After the struggles around his poor strike rate in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Kohli slowly started to gain momentum in his innings in 2023, and it kept getting better in the most recent seasons. His strike rate has seen a massive spike since 2024, with which he has adapted to modern-day cricket.

"This is, again, going to rile up Virat Kohli fans. We have seen Virat Kohli bat differently, bat superbly this season, with a strike rate of 140-150. This is the same Virat Kohli, there's nothing that has changed. It's only that he's decided that he is going to bat quicker.

"And why he has decided that? Because he could see the pressure building and people talking about him batting a little too slow. This 150 strike rate was 125-130 three-four years back," Sanjay Manjrekar told Sportstar.

'He did not trust the batters down the order.' - Sanjay Manjrekar reveals real reason behind Kohli's poor strike-rate

Manjrekar believes that Kohli took on added responsibility for the Royal Challengers as he felt the compulsion to play the role of an anchor and do the majority of the scoring due to his lack of trust in the rest of the batting order.

"It was only because Virat Kohli would hit a boundary and then pick up a one or a two, because he wanted to extend his innings, and play longer, because he felt he had to be the man to bat most of the innings, and did not trust the batters down the order.

"RCB changed when Virat Kohli, at the top, started batting quicker, and did not make himself indispensable. That's when the others also blossomed," he added.

Kohli's staggering strike rate in IPL 2026

Virat, like the past few seasons, has once again been unstoppable with the bat. Despite having retired from the shortest format of the game internationally, Kohli still challenges modern batters in the IPL with his stupendous run-scoring ability.

Opening the innings for the Royal Challengers, he has amassed 351 runs across 8 games this season and has scored runs at an average of 58.50, with two not outs this season. However, what has been the new feature of his batting this season is his spectacular strike rate.

Kohli's strike rate this season has been around 162.50, which seems impressive by his standards and the reliability he provides to the team, especially during chases. He will next be seen in the away clash against the Gujarat Titans on Thursday at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

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