Was Virat Kohli Too Slow? Aakash Chopra Shares His Take

Royal Challengers Bengaluru have maintained their dominance in the IPL 2026. But the questions still remain over Virat Kohli, who played a slow knock in the match against Mumbai Indians. In a game where all batters of the team had a strike rate above 200, Kohli didn't even manage to strike at above 150.

He was able to complete his fifty in 37 balls and eventually lost his wicket the very next ball to Hardik Pandya. Even after an aggressive start, Kohli went on to anchor the innings for the team as he was not feeling well. He also didn't take the field in the game, indicating the fact that he was not in full health before this game.

However, Aakash Chopra has opened up on Virat Kohli’s knock. He said,“Virat Kohli actually scored very slow runs. If you look at it in the context of the match, you feel it doesn't matter as you won. But if you see it from the cricketing lens, it was a very slow knock. This kind of knock is unbecoming of the contest, and neither is it becoming of Virat.”

Our Take

One of the key reasons why Virat Kohli played slow in the game against Mumbai Indians was his health. He had a high fever and headache right before the game, but still went on to score runs for his team. The point raised by Aakash Chopra was good, but it should be noted that Kohli has improved his striking in this IPL season. Kohli has kept a strike rate of 162 in this season, which is higher than the remaining seasons he has played.