IPL 2022: Kevin Pietersen compares RCB's Virat Kohli with Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo

Source: Twitter

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen compared Royal Challengers Bangalore and Virat Kohli to footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and his club Manchester United on Sunday (May 1). Pietersen opined that Kohli and RCB are big names just like Ronaldo and Man United, who want to maintain their dominance in the market with winning each and every game they play.

The comments from Pietersen came after Kohli found his mojo back in RCB's clash against the Gujarat Titans on Saturday (April 30), the veteran batter was uncharacteristically struggling to score runs in this season's IPL. 

Speaking on Star Sports, Pietersen explained how important Kohli's name is and it's important for him to win matches for RCB just like Cristiano Ronaldo does for Manchester United.

"What he needs to do is to have a look at Manchester United and Cristiano Ronaldo. Two similar brands in their different teams and their sports. You have Virat Kohli right at the top of cricket, his brand is right at the top of cricket. Cristiano Ronaldo is right at the top of football. One plays for Manchester United, and one plays for RCB and India. Those are big brands and they are going to be talking points. Those big brands also want to maintain their status in the game by winning," Pietersen said on Star Sports. 

Notably, Pietersen suggested that Kohli and RCB are always going to be a hot topic and talking point in the game of cricket, in order maintain that aura, they surely need to defeat every opponent they face.

In the clash against GT, Kohli returned to form scoring important innings of 58 off 53, which was Kohli's first half-century of the IPL 2022. However, Kohli's numbers are still not up to the mark, given the expectations from him. He has scored a total of 186 runs with an average of just 20.67. Moreover, his strike rate is only 116.25, which can be termed as 'slow' given the format he's playing in.