Ambati Rayudu incited a new debate after the India Premier League (IPL) 2024 final when he implied that Virat Kohli‘s exceptional performance for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) is posing a ‘challenge’ for his teammates.
As a member of the Star Sports experts panel, he participated in the conversation with Kevin Pietersen and Matthew Hayden, moderated by Mayanti Langer. Rayudu has consistently voiced criticism of RCB ever since their elimination from the tournament following a loss to the Rajasthan Royals (RR).
Ambati Rayudu engages in debate with Kevin Pietersen
Rayudu remarked that Kohli establishes high standards for his teammates, causing them to feel pressured to emulate him. This emulation is detrimental, especially for younger players, and is a contributing factor to their team’s underperformance.
“When you have a stalwart and a legend like Virat Kohli, who has set really high standards, it’s very hard for the youngsters to be in a side like that and try and match that standard because he always wants the team to be performing at his level,” Rayudu Said on Star Sports.
However, Pietersen opposed Rayudu’s perspective, asserting that it could be beneficial for the youngsters.
“No, it should be good for youngsters…,” Pietersen replied.
Rayudu stood firm in his stance and responded to Pietersen, emphasizing that young players face occasional burdens and that nobody can replicate Kohli’s prowess in cricket.
“But sometimes the burden of really trying to be Virat Kohli in a sport where you know nobody is going to be like him,” Rayudu concluded.
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Virat Kohli’s performance in Eliminator
Kohli performed consistently throughout the season for RCB, scoring 741 runs in 15 matches with an average of 62. However, in the eliminator against RR, the right-handed batter only managed to score 33 runs off 24 balls with a strike rate of 138.
Consequently, RCB only reached a total of 172/8 in 20 overs, and RR was able to chase down the target quite easily.
