India batting star Virat Kohli has revealed how his former Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate AB de Villiers played a key role in his memorable tour of England in 2018. The former India skipper had endured a terrible time in England in 2014 that had many question his credentials as a Test batman.
The right-handed batsman had managed to score only 134 runs in 10 innings as he struggled in swinging conditions. England pace spearhead James Anderson had given him a tough time, dismissing him 4 times as India lost the series 3-1.
Virat Kohli, however, quickly bounced back and established himself as the best Test batsman in the world soon. Between the tours of England in 2014 and 2018, he scored 15 hundreds including six double hundreds. He also became the first batsman to score double hundreds in four successive series.
However, the impressive run did not stop his critics from pointing out his failures in England. 2018 was an opportunity for the star batsman to give a fitting reply to his critics and he did. In 5 Test, he scored 593 runs at an average of 59.30 and finished the series as the highest run-getter. He also scored two centuries including a 103 in the third Test as India defeated England at Trent Bridge.
Virat Kohli on AB de Villiers’ role:
More than 4 years after his stunning display in England, Virat Kohli has revealed how his good friend and South Africa legend AB de Villiers motivated him before the series. Speaking on RCB podcast, the veteran batsman said that he was worried after he could not play for Surrey before the tour of England.
Kohli had signed up with the county outfit to play a few games before the series in England. However, he could not play for them due to a neck injury. Kohli revealed that he decided to talk to de Villiers and the latter said something that made him calm.
“I spoke to AB De Villiers after I couldn’t play County cricket in 2018 due to neck issue. I told him I’m feeling very jittery, AB told me ‘its not 2014 and you’re not the same player. You’ll be absolutely fine’. I became very calm after that,” Kohli said.
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