‘He scored two hundreds’ – Former Pakistan captain says bowlers shouldn’t mess with Virat Kohli
India captain Virat Kohli is known for his ability to hit big hundreds in most crucial moments. The right-hander also has garnered a reputation for being an aggressive customer on the field who never bows down in front of challenges. Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif, in a video, recalled two instances from Kohli’s career, to explain why bowlers should not mess with the Indian skipper during a match.
Speaking in a Youtube video, Latif recalled the India’s Test series in Australia in 2014, in which MS Dhoni had retired after the 3rd Test, the first two of which India lost, and the third ended in a draw. Dhoni was injured for the first Test, and Kohli was made the stand-in captain for the match. After Dhoni announced retirement, Kohli was again made the stand-in captain for the 4th Test.
“In 2014 series, when Dhoni retired after two Tests. Then there was one Test, in which Virat Kolhi scored two tons in each innings (Actually, Kohli had scored a ton in first innings of 3rd Test at MCG, and in 1st innings of 4th Test at SCG. He scored an unbeaten 76 in the 2nd innings at SCG). In that match, Mitchell Johnson stepped up to Kohli, and dono ke beech theek thaak gaaliyaa chal ri tha. Watch that clip, and you will see Kohli’s reaction was not defensive,” he said.
“There are some players you don’t mess with. We had Javed bhai, Viv Richards, Sunil Gavaskar. Today, Virat Kohli is one such player,” he added.
Latif further recalled India’s T20I series against West Indies last year, in which Kohli imitated right-arm seamer Kesrick Williams’ “notebook celebrations” after hitting the bowler for a six. Williams had given his signature send-off to the Indian captain back in 2017 in a T20I match in Jamaica, and Kohli admitted, he gave a reply, though insisted that it was in good spirits.
“Recently, in a T20I match against West Indies, a left-arm pacer (actually, it was a right-arm pacer Kesrick Williams) said some words to him. Even though, Kohli does not score too many runs in T20Is, but he went on to play a great innings in that match. There are certain players you don’t mess with during a match,” Latif said.
Kohli has played 86 Tests, 248 ODIs, and 82 T20Is in his career. The right-hander has amassed 7,240 Test runs, 11,867 ODI runs and 2,794 T20I runs.
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