Ex-Pakistani skipper lashes out on Simon Doull for slamming Virat Kohli after his knock against LSG

Former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull is being trolled for targeting Virat Kohli after his knock against Lucknow Super Giants. The Royal Challengers Bangalore batter scored 61 runs off 44 deliveries in match number 15 of IPL 2023. The 34-year-old started off well but took 10 balls to get from 42 to 50.

Doull, who was commentating during the RCB innings, was not impressed with Kohli’s approach and stated that he was more concerned about his personal milestone.

“Kohli started off like a train. He was going hammer and tongs as he was playing a lot of shots. From 42 to 50, he took 10 balls. Concerned about a milestone. I don’t think there’s room for that in this game anymore. Just got to keep going, especially with wickets in hand at that stage. You got to keep going,” said Doull during his commentary stint.

He doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone: Salman Butt

Reacting to his comments, former Pakistani skipper Salman Butt slammed the former Kiwi pacer for his lack of observation skills. Butt backed Kohli stating that he doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone.

“When he was in Pakistan, he used similar words for Babar Azam. If he had watched the game consciously, he would’ve noticed that Kohli tried to hit Bishnoi three four times but he missed. That is part of the game. He has 75 centuries in international cricket. He doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone. It’s utter rubbish. He (Doull) has played cricket, but he was a bowler,” said Butt on his Youtube Channel.

“Young players often play like this as getting to milestone might secure their place in the team. Why would Kohli do that? This is RCB we are talking about. He is not fighting for his place in the Indian team. He is a world-class player. Get a life. Get out of this narrow-minded thinking. All the big players like Babar, Virat and Williamson are not power-hitters. They put value on their wicket. Maybe he’s trying to get attention,” he further added.

Apart from Kohli, the RCB skipper Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell also went on to score half-centuries as they posted a total of 212 runs for the loss of 2 wickets at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium. However, it wasn’t enough for the home team as LSG chased the winning total losing 9 wickets in the last ball of the nail-biting thriller.