Recently retired South Africa captain and opening batter, Dean Elgar shared a notable incident from his first tour of India involving former India captain and superstar, Virat Kohli. Elgar recounted that during their initial encounter, Kohli spat at him, leading to a heated exchange where Elgar threatened to retaliate with his bat.
"I came into bat and, I was actually like holding my own against Ashwin and what's his name Jeja, Jeja, Jeja (Ravindra Jadeja) and Kohli spat at me. I said to him if you do that, I'll **** you with this bat," Elgar said on Banter with The Boys podcast.
Elgar recalled this first interaction with Kohli in detail. He mentioned that Kohli was familiar with local South African slang, a knowledge he attributed to Kohli's Indian Premier League (IPL) teammate, AB de Villiers, who played with him at Royal Challengers Bangalore. This familiarity played a role in the incident's resolution.
"Yes, he did because de Villiers was his teammate at RCB, so he understood. And I said if you do that, I'll **** on this field, I'll absolutely knock you out. And then [he said] 'Hey **** you, **** you' (mimicking Kohli), barking up the wrong tree. Anyways, we are in India so you got to be a little bit cautious," he further added.
The situation escalated to the point where AB de Villiers intervened during the Test match. Elgar revealed that de Villiers had a word with Kohli, helping to defuse the tension. Kohli later reached out to Elgar with an apology a few years afterwards when India was on tour in South Africa, signifying a resolution to their earlier conflict.
"De Villiers found out what he did, and went up to him and asked 'why are you spitting at my teammate?' Two years later in South Africa, he called me and asks he could go with me for a drink after the series. He said he wanted to apologise for his actions," Dean Elgar revealed.
"We drank till 3 and ya, that was my first encounter with Kohli," Elgar concluded his story.
The change in their relationship was evident years later during Dean Elgar's farewell Test match in Cape Town. In a display of camaraderie, Kohli was seen warmly embracing Elgar, spending time with the South African player after the match.
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