Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh recalled the time when Virat Kohli doubted his abilities while starting his test career. Harbhajan told Kohli he would let himself down if he did not score 10,000 runs in Test Cricket.
He said that he knew Virat Kohli was destined for greatness and would not settle for down. Virat Kohli stands at the very top when it comes to the current generation of batters.
Breaking the records of legendary Sachin Tendulkar, Kohli has become the face of Indian cricket. He has surpassed the list of most ODI hundreds and is closest to breaking the record of 100 international centuries.
On this occasion, Harbhajan recalled an incident from Kohli’s debut series that left him impressed.
Kohli made his debut during a 2008 tour of Sri Lanka and gave a glimpse of his potential with scores of 12, 37, and 25 before smashing a half-century in the fifth ODI on a challenging surface.
“I remember when he first came into the team. I think Viru (Sehwag) was injured, and the batters were all dismissed by (Ajantha) Mendis. Virat Kohli came in, a young guy full of free energy came into bat, played Mendis, and scored 54 in a One-Day game,” Harbhajan Singh shared.
“He came in and asked how he played, I said he was decent. But he felt that he should have smacked him more. I loved that attitude,” he added.
He also recalled another incident where he made his expectations of young Virat Kohli. The youngster was not in his best form at the time and seemed to struggle with his confidence.
But the veteran was so confident in Kohli that he said it would be a disappointment for the player not to score over 10,000 runs in the longest format.
India’s third-highest wicket of all time shared, “When he was starting in Test cricket, we were in the West Indies and the fast-bowler, Fidel Edwards used to get him out on the pad or the shorter delivery. He was disappointed in Barbados and the self-doubt crept in if I was good enough”.
“I told him then that if he didn’t score 10,000 runs, then you would be ashamed of yourself. You have so many capabilities that you can score 10,000 Test runs and if you didn’t do it then it would be on you.”
“After that Virat Kohli, the amount of effort he has put in, three times the amount of effort when it comes to his body, mind, and how he approaches the game,” said Bhajji.
Virat Kohli continued to perform when his team needed it the most. He has been the iconic player of the side and even captained the side before Rohit Sharma took over the captaincy.
Virat Kohli has retired from the T20I Cricket after India’s triumph in T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and West Indies but will continue to play in the test and ODI format.
