"Huge nosedive from 153 to 86 when there is no apparent reason" - When Sanjay Manjrekar questioned Virat Kohli's strike rate in IPL 2021

Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar has been dominating the headlines for his subtle digs at Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star Virat Kohli in IPL 2025. Manjrekar has routinely named the best batters of the season without including Kohli's name, thanks to his lower strike rate among the heavy run-scorers.

Manjrekar's criticism of Kohli's strike rate isn't something new. Rewinding to the 2021 IPL season, the former batter questioned a massive drop in Kohli's strike rate during one of RCB's games against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

The ace batter began the innings swiftly before slowing down considerably to finish with 53 off 41 deliveries.

Talking about the same on ESPN Cricinfo, Manjrekar said (via Times Now):

"Clearly, when he got close to 50, he slowed down. And I just wonder, the time that he is going through with all the decisions he has taken around T20 cricket and with the runs not coming in, whether he got a bit caught up in that thing about getting to 50, because it’s a huge nosedive from 153 to 86 when there is no apparent reason."

He continued:

"I thought there was a different Virat Kohli batting today. He was stepping out to the fast bowlers. He was really batting like a T20 opener, throwing caution to the wind and going down the pitch and stuff that he doesn’t do that much. And come to 40, he drastically slowed down. I couldn’t understand that."

Kohli slowing down at the fag end of his innings proved coslty as RCB finished with a sub-par total of 156/6 in 20 overs. CSK completed the run-chase comfortably with 11 balls and six wickets to spare.

Virat Kohli endured a horrific 2021 IPL season with the bat

Virat Kohli struggled throughout the 2021 IPL season, finishing with only 405 runs at an average of 28.92 and a strike rate of under 120. It was also his final season as RCB skipper, following which Faf du Plessis took over the mantle in 2022.

Yet, Kohli continued his rough patch in IPL 2022, scoring only 341 runs at an average of 22.73 and a strike rate of under 116. Nevertheless, RCB qualified for the playoffs in both seasons.

The 36-year-old returned to his best in the following IPL season in 2023, with 639 runs at an average of 53.25 and a strike rate of almost 140. Kohli enjoyed his best season of the 2020s last year, finishing with 741 runs at an average of over 61 and his highest single-season strike rate of 154.69.