Virat Kohli scored 50 runs off 38 balls in MI vs RCB clash at Wankhede Stadium. Image Credit: ANI
Simon Doull caused some controversy on Sunday when he suggested that Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) should have retired Virat Kohli in the middle of the first innings against the Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2026. The Kiwi commentator made this suggestion during the MI vs RCB, IPL 2026 clash at Wankhede Stadium. Doull thought RCB would have benefited from Kohli making room for Tim David, who is more of a natural finisher, when the former India captain was having trouble hitting boundaries. With 20 runs in his first 11 balls, Kohli got off to a great start. He eventually got out for 50 (38) with a low strike-rate of 131.58, but as the innings progressed, MI’s strategies against him limited his run flow.
To make up for that, RCB captain Rajat Patidar had more chances on the other end, scoring 53 off just 20 balls. Doull proposed the idea while Patidar was hitting enormous sixes. “Patidar should give a message to Virat saying get on with it, or we might have to sub you out,” Doull said on air.
In the IPL, Kohli has never been retired. But until 2024, he had a poor strike rate. However, the former captain of the RCB has made significant progress since then. His knock at Wankhede Stadium against the Mumbai Indians, however, drew criticism.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli did not take the field in the second innings against the Mumbai Indians. The right-handed batter, according to reports, is nursing an ankle injury. Ravi Shastri, on commentary, also talked about how Kohli had been suffering from since the previous game. His ailments probably caused a net-negative knock in the first innings when all the other RCB batters were going all guns blazing.
Fans reacted to Simon Doull talking about how RCB should have retired Virat Kohli.
Most of the reactions from the fans suggested that the social media users believed in Doull’s comments.
With Kohli struggling with a strike rate of 130, his knock came into question. Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Jitesh Sharma, and Devdutt Padikkal were in the dugout.
Virat Kohli, having an off day, managed to score only 50 runs in 38 balls in the MI vs RCB clash. The former RCB skipper smashed five fours and a solitary six. Kohli’s strike rate of 131.58 was questioned with RCB batting at 12 runs per over in their innings.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru scored 240 runs in the first innings against the Mumbai Indians. The defending champions reached the massive target thanks to Phil Salt’s knock of 78 runs off 36 deliveries. The English batter top-scored for RCB. Meanwhile, RCB captain, Rajat Patidar scored 53 runs in only 20 balls in a boundary-laden knock.
Pragun is a passionate cricket follower and writer who deeply loves the game. Having completed his education with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, he has an experience of almost two years in diverse fields. He is known for his statistical and analytical articles. Pragun tries to bring life to his articles by adding a layer of enthusiasm from the perspective of a hardcore fan. Apart from writing cricket articles, he sometimes appears on YouTube videos on a friend’s podcast.
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