Virat Kohli folds hands, refuses to listen to Dinesh Karthik; DK later says 'I am too small a person to even speak…'
Virat Kohli wasn't too keen on following Dinesh Karthik’s advice during the match, but post RCB’s 11-run win over RR, Karthik had his say on Kohli.
Captain or not, Virat Kohli is always involved in the thick of things. He may have stepped down as skipper of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, but the leader in him is active as ever. During last evening's IPL 2025 match between RCB and Rajasthan Royals, Kohli was particularly fielding in the deep, near the RCB dugout, where head coach Andy Flower and batting coach Dinesh Karthik constantly kept at his ears. For example, in the 13th over, Kohli realised that a ball change was due, which meant that the dry surface of the Chinnaswamy Stadium would help the spinners. Hence, Krunal Pandya continued bowling. He conveyed this information to captain Rajat Patidar, after which the left-arm spinner completed his third over.
However, a funny incident took place between one of the overs. Kohli, fielding at long-on, was approached by Karthik and Flower for a suggestion, but Virat turned him down. Kohli folded his hands, shrugged them, indicating a no, and refused to listen to Karthik. What the suggestion was about is unknown, but many on X have come up with a rather interesting theory. Fans feel Karthik probably wanted Kohli to bowl an over, an idea Virat wasn't keen on. Screenshots of the interaction created quite the buzz on social media.
Irrespective of the advice, all went down well for RCB, as they defeated Rajasthan Royals by 11 runs to notch up their first win of the season at their home. After the match, Karthik said Kohli's judgment was clear and precise.
Dinesh Karthik on Virat Kohli
"There is a loss for words. Purely the hunger that he has. It's one thing to play in the IPL for 18 years, But it's a different thing to be consistent for that long. This tells you a lot about the man. And he's very determined. In the first three games in Bengaluru, he told me two things. One was that he could have probably thought a little better and next, even the fans – the way he looks at it – he knows that a lot of people turn up just to watch him bat," Karthik said in the dressing room.
"So you can see that even though he did not say it explicitly, he felt that. And if that man puts his mind to something, the way he adapts, understands situations, I am too small a person to even speak about him. He is an absolutely champion. Just the way he guided Dev along the way, making sure he took Salt along at the start. His body language and commitment to a cause is outstanding."
With 392 runs already, including five half-centuries, Kohli once again seems to be on his way to mounting up runs. Winner of two Orange Caps in the past – 2016 and 2024 – Kohli could well become only the second batter after David Warner to win the prestige for a third time. He is just 25 runs behind Gujarat Titans batter Sai Sudarshan's tally of 417 runs, but as scores of 59 not out, 31, 7, 67, 22, 62 not out, 1, 73 not out and 70, it's evident that Kohli is succeeding more.
