New Delhi, March 20
Ahead of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) starting their IPL 2025 campaign on March 22, Sarandeep Singh, the former India spinner and national selector, believes Virat Kohli has evolved into someone who knows when to do the improvisation in his batting and then run the game accordingly.
As per statistics from Cricket-21, in IPL 2024, Kohli showed a new approach to his T20 batting while becoming the tournament’s leading run-getter with 741 runs in 15 games. His powerplay strike rate stood at 161, which was up from 120, his usual strike rate in that phase. 72% of his runs came in boundaries during the powerplay.
This statistic shows that at this stage of his career, despite retiring from the T20I format for India, Kohli is not slowing down but adapting himself as per the need and demand of the modern game and becoming a dominating run-machine in the IPL.
“Look, his strike rate has always been better. We don't need to talk about his strike rate. He is playing cricket from last 18 years, and he is performing at all formats. He is the number one player in every format. When you have been playing for so many years as a senior player and become one of the world's best players, you get more responsibilities.”
“Now, if you look at RCB, this is the only player who is performing and making them win matches every year. You can see his intensity is on a different level which you don't see in other players. Recently, we have also seen that intensity from in the Champions Trophy – like how to come back, make hundred and big runs, as well as play with a good strike rate. Virat Kohli knows when to do the improvisation and how he has to run the game.”
“Normally, he doesn't open, but here he opens in IPL and he attacks in the first six overs. Then he runs the game a little bit and he tries to play for 14-15 overs. It helps the middle order, and the big hitters who come at sixth or seventh place, as the lesser number of balls they get, the better it is for them. So, I think he is one of the finest players we are looking at. With his growing age, Kohli is getting better and better,”
He also recalled the time when Delhi Ranji Trophy team players soaked in the good habits of Kohli during their game against Railways earlier this year, which attracted crowds above 20,000 for the first two days at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
“When he came to Delhi to play the Ranji Trophy game, we saw his aura, as the atmosphere felt like an international match, not a domestic game. His intensity was the same for all days - practice with the red ball, do proper gym sessions, as well as in batting and fielding.”
“He was very disciplined and it helped the Delhi cricketers a lot in the six-seven days he shared the dressing room with them. He taught them so many things – like if you want to perform well, you have to discipline yourself, as the more discipline you have, the better your game will be,” he added.
Talking about the uncapped bunch of Indian players in IPL 2025, quite a few of them have emerged from their state T20 leagues. For example, players like Priyansh Arya, Prince Yadav, Digvesh Rathi and Vansh Bedi got IPL deals via good performances in the opening edition of the Delhi Premier League (DPL).
“First of all, we should thank Rohan Jaitley, as he took the initiative to have such a big stage like the Delhi Premier League. We saw big performances and in every match we got 15-16,000 crowd in stadium, and that helped the Delhi players a lot. Delhi is a big state and there is a lot of cricket here, as well as a lot of talent hidden that we don't get to see at a big stage. In first-class cricket, you can only choose a limited number of players.”
“But if you have thousands of players, why not give them a chance? That’s where the Delhi Premier League came in. Like, Vansh Vedi never played U16 or U19, but he played in the Delhi Premier League and performed well. Then we picked him for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, though unfortunately, he only played one game. But he has been picked for the Chennai Super Kings, and one can imagine how big a boost it will be for Vansh to share the dressing room with one of the greats of the game like MS Dhoni,” added Sarandeep.
Priyansh, the left-handed batter, had a terrific time for Delhi in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy by smashing 325 runs in nine games at a strike rate of 177, including hitting a century on the opening day of the tournament. He was the highest run scorer of DPL 2024 with 608 runs, while Digvesh one of the standout bowlers with 14 scalps.
“Then we have Priyansh Arya, an uncapped player who got Rs 3.8 crore from Punjab Kings and also hit six sixes for South Delhi team, where I was the director. He performed better in domestic cricket after the DPL, due to which he got picked for the IPL. Regarding Digvesh, he is a mystery spinner. He used to play in Delhi’s leagues and no one would have been aware of him. As soon as he came to the South Delhi team, he did well and performed well in domestic cricket.”
“During the DPL, scouts of IPL teams were there and saw these players to pick them later. It's a good thing that happened with all these domestic players who were not getting a chance in the big stages that they got noticed via DPL and are now in the IPL. Now they have a platform and all they have to do is catch the train,” concluded Sarandeep.