Sunil Gavaskar, the legendary Indian cricketer, didn’t hold back when responding to Virat Kohli’s recent outburst against critics of his strike-rate and performance against spin. In a fiery retort aired live on television ahead of the IPL 2024 match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Gujarat Titans, Gavaskar questioned why Kohli, who claims to ignore outside criticism, was reacting so strongly to it.

Virat Kohli had taken aim at those he referred to as ‘pundits’ for their remarks, challenging them to consider their own contributions to the game. Gavaskar, however, was not impressed with Kohli’s response, especially his decision to target the commentators themselves. He also criticized the broadcaster, Star Sports, for repeatedly airing Kohli’s rant, suggesting that it was inappropriate for the channel to promote such confrontations.

In his own words, Sunil Gavaskar expressed his disappointment with the situation: “That particular post-game interview has been shown on this channel earlier as well, right now, on this particular program it has probably been shown half a dozen times. I hope that Star Sports recognizes that when that is being shown, asking where are the critics, the critics are the commentators. Your Star Sports commentators are the ones from whom the questions are being asked.”

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Sunil Gavaskar emphasized the importance of constructive criticism in sports commentary, highlighting that commentators like himself speak based on what they observe, without personal biases. He expressed concern that the repeated airing of Kohli’s criticism could undermine the credibility of all cricket commentators associated with Star Sports.

Sunil Gavaskar’s brutal thrashing of Virat Kohli.. 🔥🔥
Chokli deserved it for behaving like a sore loser attacking commentators and questioning their cricketing knowledge. This is the reason why Kohli is not respected as much as Dhoni or Sachin pic.twitter.com/i9kZDWTxJb

— mvrkguy (@mvrkguy) May 4, 2024

Reflecting on the criticism directed at Kohli’s performance, Sunil Gavaskar reiterated his stance on the matter, stating, “Commentators questioned only when his strike-rate was 118…if you come and open and then have a strike of 118 when you get out in the 14th or the 15th over, I mean, if you want applause for that, that’s a little bit different.”

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Sunil Gavaskar also addressed the notion of ignoring outside noise, a sentiment often expressed by players. He questioned the validity of such claims, suggesting that players should not respond to criticism if they truly disregard it. He emphasized the impartiality of commentators, stating, “We all played a bit of cricket, not a lot of cricket. We don’t have agendas. We speak about what we see.”

In essence, Sunil Gavaskar’s response to Kohli’s criticism reflects the ongoing debate surrounding player performance, media scrutiny, and the role of commentators in providing objective analysis. He advocates for a balanced approach to criticism and emphasizes the importance of maintaining professionalism in sports commentary.