‘I thought he will definitely throw his bat in anger…’ – Mohammed Kaif narrates an ispirational story featuring a young Virat Kohli in IPL
Virat Kohli has blown hot and cold in the Indian Premier League 2023 so far. He had a brilliant game against Mumbai Indians where he scored a stellar 82 off 49 balls with six fours and five sixes. He helped Royal Challengers Bangalore chase a target of 172 in 16.2 overs. This helped RCB win by 8 wickets. RCB did not have a good outing in their next game as they lost to Kolkata Knight Riders by 81 runs.
Kohli has been with RCB since the inception of the IPL and is the leading run-scorer in the tournament. 2016 was Kohli’s best in the IPL, where he scored 973 in the season and took RCB to the finals. RCB lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad that year. Meanwhile, Mohammed Kaif, during his commentary stint on Star Sports, shared a wonderful story about the desire of a young Kohli to make big scores in the IPL.
I realised this player is special – Mohammed Kaif on Virat Kohli
Kaif said that Kohli was once furious with himself for playing a poor shot and getting out for a low score. After he played that rash stroke, he vented his anger in the dressing room. “There was this one time when Virat Kohli got out the same way he was dismissed today (vs KKR on Thursday). I was sitting right beside him, and I thought he will definitely throw his bat in anger. And yes, when he came, he threw his bat straightaway, removed his pad. I was sitting beside him, and he said, ‘I’m going to score big the next time’,” Kaif narrated.
“In the next innings, he scored an unbeaten 72. Imagine. He had gone out, and he was upset. But he forgot that before coming to bat in the next match, scored 72. Then, I realised that this player is special,” Kaif added.
In the second game in 2023, Kohli did not have a great game as he was dismissed for just 21 off 18 balls against KKR. On the other hand, RCB has announced replacements for Reece Topley and Rajat Patidar and will be hoping to bounce back next game.
RCB will play their next game at home against Lucknow Super Giants on April 10. LSG has won two games and lost a close contest against the Chennai Super Kings. The KL Rahul led side will hope to continue their winning momentum against RCB. LSG won their last game against Hyderabad by 5 wickets.
