Why Virat Kohli dropped Chris Gayle, Sarfaraz Khan from RCB’s first XI

Virat Kohli sets very high standards for himself and also for the side and in a subtle way he has made it clear that more than reputations, it is balance and fitness that he cares of. Kohli, 27, is one of the fittest cricketers in the world and he works extremely hard of his fitness. He does reap huge benefits as currently, he is most consistent and prolific limited-overs cricketers. READ MORE: Virat Kohli’s sensational hundred helps RCB triumph over RPS: Twitter Reaction from Cricket Fraternity

The Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are struggling hard to stay alive in the ongoing Indian Premier League and despite their low standing in the points table, the team management has baffled most with their decision to drop two of their star players, Chris Gayle and Sarfaraz Khan. While Gayle is regarded as the greatest T20 batsman ever, Sarfaraz is a budding talent who has done exceedingly well in the limited opportunities he had. ALSO READ: IPL 2016: Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Rising Pune Supergiants by 7 wickets, Stars and Flops

Gayle did not have a good start to the tournament and later had to rush back to Jamaica to celebrate fatherhood. Ever since his return, he just played one game before he was dropped. Kohli clarified that the big Jamaican was not rested. A report from Times of India quotes Kohli as saying, “Gayle was not rested. We chose Travis Head in place of him because we felt that we needed more solidity in the middle. Travis strikes the ball really well and KL (Rahul) and me are opening well for the team, and Travis can bowl off-spin as well in the middle if need be.“

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Sarfaraz has scored runs at 33 and with a strike rate of 212.90 but he had to make way for left-hander Sachin Baby as the latter is a better fielder.

“He (Sarfaraz) understands the areas in which he needs to work on as far as the fitness and fielding is concerned. You can’t afford to have too many guys in the field who are not up to the mark with their fielding because the outfield here is lightning quick. I think Sachin is in that aspect is very committed, he is fit, and he works on those things. Me as captain, I want to have a guy who gives 120 percent on the field and saves some crucial five to six runs,“ Kohli added.