Hayden outlines brighter side to Kohli-Gavaskar row over strike rate: ‘Dangerous athlete is one that’s been wounded’.

Legendary Australia batter Matthew Hayden suggested that he is not surprised by Virat Kohli silencing his critics. Virat Kohli has been in incredible form in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League and somehow managed to reinvent himself as a modern-day T20 batter by displaying his power game in the last few matches. Kohli, who has been leading the Orange Cap tally, faced criticism after the initial stage of IPL regarding his strike rate as he was failing to up the ante in the middle overs of the innings. However, Kohli silenced his critics by taking on the spinners in the last few matches and playing at a healthy strike rate throughout his innings. In the last three matches, Kohli has scored 40-plus scores at a strike rate of over 150 and smashed 92 against Punjab Kings while striking the ball at 196.74. The RCB batting maestro also took sly digs at critics on a couple of occasions in the post-match press conference who questioned his intent. However, he also faced backlash for that from former India batting great Sunil Gavaskar. Meanwhile, legendary Australia batter Matthew Hayden suggested that he is not surprised by Kohli coping with the criticism. “I understand from a fan’s point of view that Virat Kohli has copped a bit of criticism around the strike-rate. It’ll always be the case because, he’s a very conventional cricketer. He’s a very technical cricketer, which makes him a great across all three formats.” “He’s an extremely fit warrior. So he’ll be able to take games deep in Test match cricket, one day cricket and in fact, T20 cricket as well,” said Hayden on Star Sports.