Dinesh Karthik, the mentor and batting coach of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), is in complete awe of Virat Kohli’s relentless drive to get better, even after so many years of dominance in the game.
As RCB gears up to face Chennai Super Kings in their upcoming IPL 2025 match at the Chepauk Stadium, Karthik is confident that Virat Kohli and his team can tackle CSK’s spin challenge smartly.
In recent years, Kohli’s strike rate against spin has been a hot topic of discussion, especially since 2023, when it has slowed down to around 120 against the slow bowlers, which has drawn some criticism from the fans and cricket experts.
For years, opponents tried to exploit this by deploying spinners to slow Kohli down. However, that perception has changed dramatically over the past year and proved that he is no longer the same batter who could be contained by slower bowlers.
Dinesh Karthik says Virat Kohli is ready to take on the spin challenge in the CSK vs RCB IPL 2025 Match
Even Karthik has downplayed the notion about Kohli’s struggles against spin, saying the dashing right-handed batter has worked on refining his technique and approach while facing spin. Instead of being bogged down, the former RCB skipper has adopted a more aggressive and proactive stance.
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This change was evident during the IPL 2025 opener in Kolkata, where the Indian batting maestro played a sparkling knock of 59* runs from just 36 balls, displaying remarkable fluency against spin, and helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru to beat Kolkata Knight Riders by seven wickets on March 22.
As RCB prepares to take on CSK at Chepauk, which is famous for favoring spinners, all eyes will be on Kohli and his battle with the Chennai spin trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Noor Ahmad.
Dinesh Karthik backs Virat Kohli’s spin mastery to shine at Chepauk
The challenge is daunting, but Karthik believes that the former Indian captain is batting with more fluency and confidence than ever before and is ready to stun the fans on March 28.
Dinesh Karthik said at the pre-match conference, “He is coming off some serious runs in the Champions Trophy. He has batted well in the recent past against spin, especially in white-ball cricket. I don’t want to go too deep into stats, but if you look at big matches, like the [T20] World Cup final, he delivered when it mattered.
Even in the Champions Trophy, he was India’s second-highest run-getter. That doesn’t happen without playing spin well because in Dubai, as you all know, it helped the spinner. So, I believe, right now, he is batting as well as he ever has.”
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His never-ending quest for excellence makes Virat Kohli a special player: Dinesh Karthik
Despite being one of the few players still active from the first IPL season, Kohli never stops improving. The right-handed batter has recently added the slog sweep to his arsenal to tackle spinners more effectively.
And RCB’s mentor is in awe of Virat Kohli’s relentless drive to get better. Karthik recalled a recent training session where Kohli’s passion for refining his skills was on full display.
Karthik signed off by saying, “You speak to him even today, just now as I came out—he wanted to work on one more shot. At this stage of his career, for him to still want to add something new to his game tells you everything about his hunger. He just wants to improve and keep raising the bar. That’s what makes him a special player.”
