Former Indian opener, Gautam Gambir reckons that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper, Virat Kohli tends to slow down after the powerplay in the Indian Premier League (IPL) because he is mostly batting with Glenn Maxwell or AB de Villiers after the wickets fall and prefers to anchor his innings while other play the big shots. 

The former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper also said that while Kohli’s pacing of his innings will be dependent on the conditions, gaining momentum in the powerplay and then playing as an anchor is the India skipper’s natural game in T20 cricket.

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During a chat on ESPNCricinfo, Gautam Gambhir said, “(It) depends on the wicket and I believe the reason is Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers. He feels that those two guys can accelerate and he can play an anchor role in the second half, which he has done really well. That’s probably why he prefers to open the batting, get momentum in the first six overs and then continue batting while someone else from the other end can accelerate.”

He further added, “That is his natural game, but if he goes out of that, it will be difficult for him to score a lot of runs because he doesn’t have the same power or skill as AB de Villiers or, for that matter, Glenn Maxwell. But look, you need all kinds of players in your eleven, and Virat Kohli is world-class, no doubt about that.”

Virat Kohli has been maintaining a strike rate of 145 while batting in the powerplay this season in the IPL but that drops off to less than 90 in the middle overs. However, Gautam Gambhir said that strike rates are an overrated quantum in T20s, and the role that Kohli and a player like Maxwell plays are different.

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Explaining the same, Gautam Gambhir said, “Strike rates are very overrated. You can expect Kohli to have a 600-run season but you cannot expect that from Maxwell, and you can never have Maxwell batting at a (strike rate of) 120-125 and expect Kohli to be batting on 160. So both of them are different and it’s a combination of everyone that makes a successful side.”