Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma have been close friends since their early days in cricket.© AFP
India cricketers Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma have been close friends since their early days in cricket. Both have been playing together since the U-17 days, and have also represented Delhi and India. Over the years, Ishant has witnessed the highs and lows of Kohli’s career. In a recent interaction, Ishant spilled beans on his first chat with Kohli. The pacer, who has currently fallen out of favour in the Indian side, revealed that he first me Kohli during the Delhi U-17 camp.
The 34-year-old recalled that Kohli took him to cleaners during the trial match, but he somehow got selected in Delhi U-17 side.
“I first met him during Delhi U-17 trials. I remember wearing a small lower. He had already played India U-19 so I had heard his name a lot. Everyone used to call him ‘Viru’ back then. Our match was at the West Delhi Cricket Academy and he absolutely hammered me. The wicket was flat as a road in Najafgarh,” Ishant said on Beer Biceps podcast.
On his first interaction with the former India captain, Ishant revealed that Kohli told him to buy a lower of his size.
“I somehow got selected for the U-17 trials. I met him in person during there. He jokingly told me ‘buy a lower of your size’. I was very shy back then, didn’t knew how to interact with others. I didn’t knew how big it was to play Delhi U-17. My father always said ‘at least try to get into Ranji Trophy so that you can get a goverment job. Nobody had though that i would play India one day,” he added.
Kohli and the rest of the Indian players are currently on a break from action. Team India’s next assignment will begin next month in the West Indies.
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