Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) lost to the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 55 runs on Friday, May 23, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. While there were a lot of star performers on the night, two players who didn’t have great outings with the bat hogged the limelight.
Travis Head and Virat Kohli scored 26 and 15, respectively, in a game where 455 runs were scored across the two innings. However, their heated altercation took centre stage. Kohli had a lot of things to say to Head while the former was batting. The latter only responded with facial expressions.
The tension crawled into the post-match scenes when Kohli didn’t shake hands with Head, who was stunned by the former India captain’s reaction.
Former RCB opener Wasim Jaffer said that, despite whatever happened on the field, Kohli should have let it slide after the match and shaken hands with the SRH batter. The cricketer-turned-expert added that, being an ambassador of the game, followed by millions around the world, Kohli didn’t set the right example.
“We don’t know the depth of what happened. Australians get behind you and are very tough on the field. They play hard and keep needling you. But people know you don’t have to trigger Virat. I don’t know what happened but at least he should have shaken hands. That thing should end on the ground. Then you have to shake hands and move on. You should not carry it. Kohli is an ambassador of the game. Everyone watches him. So all his steps need to be that way as he is a role model for millions. It was not right. I think he will reflect. We don’t know what has happened but from the outside, it feels like you must move on. He is too big a player to be doing this,” he said on his YouTube channel.
SRH amassed 255/4 in the first innings before restricting RCB to 200/4. Jaffer believes that this defeat for the defending champions could serve as a wake-up call ahead of the playoffs.
“After looking at the game, you do get some doubts. It was a big defeat. All your players were playing as well. I think that before the Qualifier, a defeat is a wake-up call. I don’t think it is a bad thing for RCB. They will think that they need to tighten their screws before the Qualifier. There are some concerns. But the playoffs is a different ball game altogether,” he explained.
Phil Salt or Venkatesh Iyer? Wasim Jaffer suggests opening partner for Virat Kohli in playoffs
Venkatesh Iyer has been in fine form, contributing with important runs in the limited opportunities he has been given by the RCB management. On Friday, he opened the batting alongside Kohli and amassed 44 off 19 balls. Meanwhile, Phil Salt is also back from his injury treatment and is in line to feature in the playoffs. This gives RCB a pleasant headache on who should open with Kohli.
Jaffer picked Iyer as the ideal opening partner for Kohli, as he has been in good form, while Salt hasn’t played in a long time.
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“You will be tempted. But my problem is he has not played a lot. There is no match practice. You are not far away from the Qualifier so we don’t know how fit he is. He is a dangerous player but would you straight away play someone who has not had game time? Or would you prefer Venkatesh Iyer who is in form. I am practical and would rather go with an in-form player rather than take a chance on an unfit player even though he is Salt. Venkatesh Iyer is in good form so I might as well continue with him,” Jaffer stated.
