Virat Kohli under lot of pressure this IPL, other RCB batters need to support him: Steve Smith
Mumbai (PTI): Virat Kohli is "under a lot of pressure" in the ongoing IPL owing to the collective failure of Royal Challengers Bengaluru batters, feels former Australia captain Steve Smith who wants the Indian superstar's RCB teammates to come good in the supporting act.
Kohli has waged a lone battle for RCB this IPL season with 203 runs in four matches at 67.66 with two fifties. The second-best batter, Dinesh Karthik, is way behind with 90 runs in as many games.
Despite Kohli's consistency, RCB have faltered with three losses in four matches throwing them as far back as the seventh spot in the points table. The likes of Glenn Maxwell, skipper Faf du Plessis and Cameron Green have been underwhelming so far with the bat.
"He needs the other key batters to stand up with him, and if they do that, they can turn things around for their season. But, at the moment, they're not so a lot of pressure is on Virat," Smith, a member of the Star Sports Incredible Star Cast, told PTI in an exclusive interaction at the channel's studio here.
"I doubt he'd be putting extra pressure on himself. (But) some of the other top-order and middle-order (batters) need to help Virat," he said.
Smith warned that Kohli is not going to score runs in every match and RCB batters must get their act together.
"He started the campaign really well in the IPL and he needs some support. He's not going to score runs on every occasion," he said.
"But, I doubt he'd be thinking that way. I don't think he'd go out and put extra pressure on himself. He'd just go out and play and see what happens in that game."
Smith rubbished the criticism which Kohli has faced time and again in his career over his batting strike-rate saying that no player in the world can read situations as well as the Indian batter. Kohli has been hitting at over 140 in this year's IPL.
"Virat is an incredible player. What he does really well, and probably better than most people in the world, is (that) he sums up the conditions and the situation of the game and plays accordingly," he said.
"If he needs to strike big, he does. If he needs to bring it back a little bit and build some partnerships...You don't need 180 on every ground; 150-160 might be enough on some grounds," he added.
"Virat sums up the conditions really well and the situation. I'm not fussed about the strike rate," Smith continued.
Smith also touched upon another controversy-mired sub-plot in the IPL -- Hardik Pandya's captaincy of Mumbai Indians and the fan backlash he is facing. He understands why Pandya has been subjected to jeering in all three matches so far, but also wants fans to stop holding on to the past.
"Yes and no. Obviously, there was that (booing) going on in the first two games. It sort of becomes a bit of a thing, if that makes sense. But, it was unfortunate, I think. I'd love to see them supporting Hardik. Obviously, there's a lot of huge Rohit fans out there," he said.
"A lot of people are a bit annoyed that he's not the captain of the side. But, everyone needs to let go of that and support Hardik. He's a wonderful player. He had a lot of success at Gujarat (Titans). He's back (as) captain of the side at Mumbai now.
"The senior players need to help him out," Smith said.
Being a subject of severe international scrutiny as Australia captain back in 2018 following the ball-tampering incident in Cape Town which led to him being banned for one year, Smith shared some insights on what it takes to come out.
"While all this negativity is out there, he has got to find ways to cope with it and mechanisms to deal with it," Smith said.
"Everyone is different (in) the way they do that. For me, personally, I just block everything out. I don't listen to anything; I don't listen to any comments, or boos, or anything like that.
"It's difficult to say, but you kind of just have to let it be. Block it out as much as you can, and just get on with the job at hand. I think the best way for him to turn people around is if Mumbai start winning, that's the key thing," Smith said.
Smith, however, rejected suggestions that the off-field drama has been a factor in MI's three successive losses.
"One thing about the Mumbai Indians is (that) they're notoriously bad starters in the tournament. They've done it on numerous occasions," he said.
"I don't think they'd be too worried just yet. But, they will have to turn things around really quickly. It doesn't look good, 0-3 at the bottom of the table. They have to turn things around really quickly," he added.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
