IPL 2022: "He's still only just clearing the boundary ropes" - Sanjay Manjrekar not convinced about Virat Kohli's return to form

Sanjay Manjrekar isn't convinced about Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter Virat Kohli's return to form despite his vintage 36-ball 48 against Mumbai Indians (MI) on Saturday. The former Indian opener noted that Kohli's big shots do not travel as far as they used to a few years ago, saying that his "power game" is far from its peak.

Kohli missed his half-century by just two runs due to a controversial decision but his knock, which included five boundaries, showed positive glimpses of his aggression, gumption, and the sense of control that he brings when at his best. Many observers termed it the 'return' of Kohli after months of fluttering form.

But speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar said he won't believe this until he sees Kohli's sixes go deeper into the stands, even if he keeps scoring half-centuries.

He said:

"Virat Kohli did score some runs but when I see him, I focus on how far his sixes go - near the boundary, in the stands or the second tier. He's still only just clearing the boundary ropes and this is what I have often said in the past year - Virat Kohli's power game has diminished a bit. Five-six years ago he used to hit big sixes. I will focus on that and not him hitting 50 or 60 runs. Once his power game gets better then I'll say Virat Kohli has arrived in T20 cricket."

If the former RCB captain needs more time to settle into his groove, he has ample support from Glenn Maxwell and the in-form Dinesh Karthik in the middle order. Manjrekar called the two big-hitters a 'dangerous' combination, saying:

"This is also the perfect role for Dinesh Karthik, the finishing role. When you send him at No. 3 and expect him to play till the 20th over and anchor the innings, that's not his role. Glenn Maxwell is back and he hit a reverse shot on his first ball for four and got the winning runs as well. He'll always add that danger value. So they (RCB) have quite dangerous No. 5 and No. 6 batters. And I have always believed Dinesh Karthik is the most dangerous player for cameo innings in T20 cricket."

After four innings, Karthik is yet to be dismissed in IPL 2022. He's played a major role in two of RCB's three wins and now has 97 runs from four innings at a strike rate of 210.87 - the third-highest in the tournament so far.

To see list of IPL winner, click here.

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Siddarth Kaul a like-for-like replacement for Harshal Patel: Sanjay Manjrekar

RCB will now take on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the DY Patil Sports Academy on Tuesday. In a significant blow, they'll be without last season's IPL Purple Cap winner Harshal Patel, with the pacer missing out due to personal reasons.

Manjrekar named former SunRisers Hyderabad pacer and Siddarth Kaul as a "like-for-like" replacement for Patel, arguing that both seasoned players rely on their variations to get wickets. Manjrekar explained:

"Harshal Patel gets 90 percent of his wickets on slower balls and Siddharth Kaul does the same. These are our seasoned local seam bowlers who have bowled a lot on dead pitches. It's a like-for-like replacement and I don't think any foreign player can take his place."

According to the IPL schedule 2022, the RCB-CSK clash will kick off at 7:30 pm IST.