Indian pacer Ishant Sharma opened up about his long and deep friendship with Virat Kohli and recalled a time in his life when the former India skipper was sad. Both of India's veteran stars have been playing since their days in youth cricket, having represented India and Delhi together from the U17 days.
Kohli last played for the country during the recently concluded World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2023 against Australia at The Oval in London, with Australia beating the two-time WTC finalists by 209 runs. Ishant spoke about the death of Kohli's father and how the star batter batted to a century despite hearing about the news a day earlier.
“The day Virat Kohli’s father passed away, he was alone & sad, didn’t know how to react but then he batted & won the game when he was just 17 years – till today I don’t understand how, if that happens to me, I would not have been gone to ground,” said Ishant Sharma on BeerBiceps Youtube channel.
Ishant also recalled some other more pleasant times in Kohli's life, admitting that the star batter has made a big transformation in his career since the olden days.
“I have seen all his phases. From party to tattoo, fitness freak to a top performer, he has made a massive transformation in his career. He was fond of parties, and during a tournament in Kolkata, he went partying the whole night but scored 250 the next day. He was unbeaten the previous day, and we were representing Delhi in U-19 cricket,” Ishant Sharma added.
Virat is in the India squad which will travel to the West Indies for the two-match Test series and three ODIs.
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