Virat Kohli made a big statement of intent on Saturday night as he guided Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to a comfortable win against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The 2026 IPL opener lived up to its billing as both teams played some exciting cricket. Kohli (69 off 38 balls, 4sx5, 6sx5) stayed till the end as the defending champions chased down 202 in the 16th over. Reacting to his performance, former India player Mohammad Kaif posted on X, which kind of took a dig at Kohli’s critics. But it was not the occasion for that!
“Imagine, after two ducks in Australia, they said Virat Kohli was over. His last 10 scores in white ball cricket are – 74, 135, 102, 65, 131, 77, 93 , 23, 124 and 69 n.o in this match,” Kaif wrote.
Though it’s not clear why Kaif wrote that. Of late, Kohli has been in great touch. Nobody was questioning his place in the Indian ODI team, and as far as RCB were concerned, he had helped them win the league for the first time last year. So, Kaif’s post looks rather unnecessary. Much ado about nothing.
Those two ducks he is talking about came in Australia last year, and the criticism at the time was justified. It was a three-match rubber, and Kohli scored ducks in the first two matches, and India lost both the matches and the series. The manner of his dismissals was particularly alarming.
He looked quite helpless as Mitchell Starc and Xavier Bartlett accounted for him. If truth be told, Kohli looked like a walking wicket. Although the visiting side won the last match with Kohli and Rohit Sharma making hay, the fact of the matter was India had lost the series. So the criticism of Kohli wasn’t undue, if truth be told. What happens after the series is lost does not matter. India head coach Gautam Gambhir is absolutely right in this regard. Winning is paramount. Everything else doesn’t matter.
Another factor, India have since played all their ODIs in India, which means absolutely batting-friendly pitches. His impact will truly be judged in South Africa, England, Australia and New Zealand. Next year, South Africa and Zimbabwe will host the World Cup, and it’s where his greatness should truly shine. Not on sub-continental belters. So, Mr Kaif, nobody is surprised that Kohli is on such a wonderful run since the series against Australia.
A terrible culture has developed nowadays where people, fans and experts alike, are quick to criticise as well as quick to praise. Yes, there is this consensus that both Kohli and Rohit should retire, as it will pave the way for the new crop of players, like Yashasvi Jaiswal. They have done more than enough; they have nothing to prove. They can walk off into the sunset at peace with themselves.
Which is also not required. As long as they want to play, as long as they can perform, they should be encouraged to play. You see, everything has to be performance-based. No personal feelings please.
Kohli is a great player, there is no doubt about that, but if he is not doing well, he should be criticised. The matter was truly buried, and Kaif has tried to dig it up now. To what end, nobody knows. Support players when they are down, not when they are doing really well.
