Dinesh Karthik, the mentor and batting coach of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), is in full awe of Virat Kohli’s relentless drive to get higher, even after so a few years of dominance within the sport.
As RCB gears as much as face Chennai Super Kings of their upcoming IPL 2025 match on the Chepauk Stadium, Karthik is assured that Virat Kohli and his crew can deal with CSK’s spin problem well.
Lately, Kohli’s strike charge towards spin has been a scorching matter of debate, particularly since 2023, when it has slowed all the way down to round 120 towards the sluggish bowlers, which has drawn some criticism from the followers and cricket specialists.
For years, opponents tried to take advantage of this by deploying spinners to sluggish Kohli down. Nevertheless, that notion has modified dramatically over the previous yr and proved that he’s now not the identical batter who could possibly be contained by slower bowlers.
Dinesh Karthik says Virat Kohli is able to tackle the spin problem within the CSK vs RCB IPL 2025 Match
Even Karthik has downplayed the notion about Kohli’s struggles towards spin, saying the dashing right-handed batter has labored on refining his approach and method whereas dealing with spin. As a substitute of being slowed down, the previous RCB skipper has adopted a extra aggressive and proactive stance.
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This transformation was evident through the IPL 2025 opener in Kolkata, the place the Indian batting maestro performed a glowing knock of 59* runs from simply 36 balls, displaying exceptional fluency towards spin, and helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru to beat Kolkata Knight Riders by seven wickets on March 22.
As RCB prepares to tackle CSK at Chepauk, which is known for favoring spinners, all eyes can be on Kohli and his battle with the Chennai spin trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Noor Ahmad.
Dinesh Karthik backs Virat Kohli’s spin mastery to shine at Chepauk
The problem is daunting, however Karthik believes that the previous Indian captain is batting with extra fluency and confidence than ever earlier than and is able to stun the followers on March 28.
Dinesh Karthik mentioned on the pre-match convention, “He’s coming off some critical runs within the Champions Trophy. He has batted effectively within the latest previous towards spin, particularly in white-ball cricket. I don’t wish to go too deep into stats, however should you take a look at huge matches, just like the [T20] World Cup closing, he delivered when it mattered.
Even within the Champions Trophy, he was India’s second-highest run-getter. That doesn’t occur with out taking part in spin effectively as a result of in Dubai, as you all know, it helped the spinner. So, I imagine, proper now, he’s batting in addition to he ever has.”
His unending quest for excellence makes Virat Kohli a particular participant: Dinesh Karthik
Regardless of being one of many few gamers nonetheless lively from the primary IPL season, Kohli by no means stops enhancing. The best-handed batter has just lately added the slog sweep to his arsenal to deal with spinners extra successfully.
And RCB’s mentor is in awe of Virat Kohli’s relentless drive to get higher. Karthik recalled a latest coaching session the place Kohli’s ardour for refining his expertise was on full show.
Karthik signed off by saying, “You converse to him even right this moment, simply now as I got here out—he needed to work on yet another shot. At this stage of his profession, for him to nonetheless wish to add one thing new to his sport tells you the whole lot about his starvation. He simply needs to enhance and hold elevating the bar. That’s what makes him a particular participant.”