NEW DELHI: Legendary West Indies pacer and famous commentator Ian Bishop found himself at the centre of controversy for his on air remark on Virat Kohli during Royal Challengers Bengaluru-Rajasthan Royals clash on Saturday.
Despite scoring a century, Kohli drew criticism due to his strike rate, which tied for the slowest in IPL history. It took him 67 balls to reach the milestone, and he concluded with an unbeaten 113 off 72 balls, registering a strike rate of 156.94.
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The former RCB skipper Kohli took 39 balls to reach his half-century and Bishop who was commentating hailed the batting maestro’s effort.
However, Bishop’s praise for Kohli was met with criticism from netizens, who reminded him that since it was a T20 match, achieving a half-century in 39 balls on a batting-friendly track was considered subpar.

A fan wrote on X,”@irbishi said just 39 deliveries. After virat completed his 50 someone needs to tell him ipl is a 20 over tournament not 50 I know they are paying you to praise big players but still call what it is 39 ball 50 on a batting track is a joke.”
Bishop was quick to admit his mistake and made the inaccurate choice of words.

“Believe you me, I am very aware of what batting in this format entails. I was inaccurate in my choice of words. That’s on me. I am not the devil,,,,,,not yet??. But thanks for your feedback. It’s appreciated, he said in a reply.
“I take an “L” on that one. I am very aware of what T20 batting entails, and my insertion of that word was inaccurate. My choice of words and language in keeping with the format of the game needs to be more accurate and it will be going forward. Apologies,” Bishop replied to another fan.