Virat Kohli no doubt is a tough competitor on the field and hardly gives an inch. He rather likes to give it back and often uses his verbal remarks and his match performances to hit back at the opponents. Taking a cue from a few incidents, former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif asked bowlers not to mess with Virat Kohli.
Latif recalled two incidents which proved if bowlers sledge Kohli, he can be even more damaging to their side, which can cost them the game.
Rashid Latif recalled India’s series Down Under in 2014, where Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, sledged the inform Virat Kohli. In the series Kohli hit a century in the first innings of the third Test and in the first innings of the fourth Test. India was trailing 0-2 in the series, and the third match ended in a draw.
“In 2014 series, when Dhoni retired after two Tests. Then there was one Test, in which Virat Kolhi scored two tons in each innings. In that match, Mitchell Johnson stepped up to Kohli, and dono ke beech thik thak gaaliyan chal rahi thi. Watch that clip, and you will see Kohli’s reaction was not defensive,” Rashid Latif stated.
“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.
Last year during India’s series against the West Indies, Kesrick Williams had pulled off his renowned notebook celebration after dismissing Virat Kohli in a T20I match. The Indian captain, later on, mimicked his celebration after hitting Williams for a maximum.
“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 inning in that match. There are certain players you don’t mess with during a match,” Latif stated.
