IPL 2026 | ‘Virat enjoys Australian-style aggression’ Irfan Pathan

Former India allrounder Irfan Pathan downplayed the heated onfield exchange between Virat Kohli and Travis Head during Royal Challengers Bengalurus IPL clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad saying such confrontations are a natural byproduct of the intensity and competitiveness of toplevel cricketKohli and Head were involved in an onfield exchange with the former appearing to mock the Australian batters frequent use by his team as an Impact Substitute by gesturing and telling him to bowl a few deliveries instead of staying off the fieldKohli however was dismissed soon after for 15 off 11 balls prompting Head to fire back with a sledge of his own The tension appeared to linger after SRHs commanding 55run win as Head tried to shake hands during the customary postmatch greetings but Kohli walked past him without acknowledging the gestureVirat Kohli has always enjoyed playing cricket with that aggressive Australianstyle intensity a bit of banter competitiveness and emotion on the field JioStar expert Pathan saidDuring that moment he was asking Travis Head to come on and bowl a few deliveries instead of remaining off the field as an impact substitute These kinds of exchanges are quite natural in highpressure games especially when both teams are competing for crucial positions on the points table In the end it was simply part of the intensity and competitive spirit that comes with toplevel cricketSehwag backs Venkatesh to open for RCB wants Salt in for JiteshVenkatesh Iyer has given Royal Challengers Bengaluru a welcome selection dilemma ahead of the playoffs said former India batter Virender Sehwag who wants the lefthander to continue opening while suggesting that a fitagain Phil Salt should replace the outofform Jitesh Sharma in the playing XIIyer struck 73 and 44 in the last two games while batting at number four and opening the innings respectively after spending most of the ongoing season on the sidelinesVenkatesh Iyer is at his best when batting in the top order He played his best knocks for KKR in that position For RCB he hasnt had many chances at his preferred spot JioStar expert Sehwag an explosive opener in his playing days said on Star Sports Amul Cricket LiveBut when Rajat Patidar was injured he came in at number four against Punjab and played a matchwinning 73 Then against SRH he opened the innings and played a quickfire 44 giving RCB the start they needed in a 256run chasePhil Salt scored 202 runs in six innings for RCB in IPL 2026 before suffering a lefthand finger injury that sidelined him He has since rejoined the RCB camp after recovering fullyNow with Phil Salt returning to full fitness the big question is whether Venkatesh will keep his place in the XI Its a good problem for RCB to have Sehwag saidI wouldnt drop Iyer from the opening slot Instead I would replace Jitesh Sharma with Phil Salt Jitesh is not in great form and RCB have taken bold decisions before If Salt has to come back Jitesh should make wayPunjab Kings campaign hangs by a thread as they need to beat Lucknow Super Giants in their final league match to keep alive their hopes of sneaking into the playoffsSehwag who represented Kings XI Punjab during his IPL career said PBKS bowling remains their Achilles heel and the absence of a dependable wickettaker in the middle overs has repeatedly hurt the sideThey have had enough opportunities to seal a playoff spot but failed to take them Their batting has let them down in crucial moments and their bowling has lacked discipline Sometimes the law of averages catches up when you win too many gamesMitchell Marsh will be a big challenge for Punjabs bowling attack Even in the last two seasons when Punjab made the final their bowling was never their strongest suit They have lacked a reliable wickettaker in the middle overs and that weakness has been exposed time and againThey will struggle against Marsh especially in the powerplay where he is most dangerous His ability to pick length early and clear the boundaries with ease makes him a handful on any surface The only thing that could help Punjab is leaving DharamshalaThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever