Indian captain Virat Kohli is known for his aggressive approach on the field. Be it if he’s batting or fielding, Kohli never misses any chance to take somebody on his radar. From David Warner to Mitchell Starc, the Delhi-born has been involved in a lot of verbal battles. Last he was seen engaging in some oral exchanges with Australia skipper Tim Paine during the 2018-19 India tour of Australia.
Apart from the Aussies, Kohli also shares a history of tongue-lashing with Bangladeshi speedster Rubel Hossain. In fact, their rivalry goes back a long way, to their U-19 days which has continued even in World Cup encounters. Fans still remember Kohli’s heated discussion with Rubel in the 2011 WC and 2015 mega event in Australia.
The seed of the thrilling competitiveness between the two was planted in the U-19 Tri-nation series in South Africa in 2008. Rubel in a recent chat session has recalled the moment and said Kohli used to sledge a lot in his early days.
“I have played against Virat Kohli since our U-19 days. So I have had things going on with him from our U-19 days. During the U-19 days, he used to sledge a lot. Now it may not be that much,” Rubel said during a Facebook Live session with teammates Tamim Iqbal and Taskin Ahmed, as quoted by Bdcrictime.
Rubel reminisced a contest between the two neighbouring nations and said Kohli had abused Bangladeshi batsmen during a match in that tri-nation series. The right-armer claimed that he and Kohli then got involved in an altercation and the on-field umpires had to step up to bring the situation under control.
“There was a match in South Africa, in a tri-national tournament. He was sledging a lot, abusing our batters who was coming down. We know how he was abusive. There, I had an ugly fallout with him and abused him after he got out. Virat flipped his bat around and gave it back to me, charging towards me. I had an altercation with him, and the umpire had to intervene to get things back under control,” added Rubel.
Kohli led India to an unforgettable victory in the 2008 U-19 World Cup, after the ‘Boys in Blue’ defeated South Africa by 12 runs via D/L method.
