"What's Wrong With You?" How Kohli Comforts Old Friends During Interactions

Virat Kohli is among the best batters the world of cricket has ever seen. The player made his India debut in 2008 and never looked back since then. With hard work and consistent performance, Kohli turned out to be a nightmare even for the greatest bowlers who played against him. While his sensational run in international cricket continued, Kohli also kept shinging in the Indian Premier League. No doubt, Kohli’s value has increased in multiple folds in the last 17 years due to his terrific performances in international cricket and IPL. However, the player tries to maintain that his stature doesn’t impact his bond with his old friends.

In a recent interaction at ‘RCB Podcast: Bold and Beyond’, Kohli revealed that he tried to interact with his old friend in the same manner as before. The star batter added that he even tries to comfort them during conversations.

“I’ve never behaved differently with them because I don’t feel differently myself. I’m pretty much the same with everyone I meet. I recently net a couple of my Under-19 teammates – Tanmay Srivastava and Ajitesh Argal – both of whom are now umpires in the IPL. We shared a lot of memories. I met Yomi (Yomahesh) recently in Chennai. I played a lot of cricket with him. So, things stay exactly the same,” Kohli said.

“Maybe based on their experiences or what they might have heard from some other people, they don’t approach (me) that openly, immediately. I don’t think it affects me. I just try to ease them into the conversation or into that space because I sense that they might be feeling that I have changed. Now I am at this position and I have become this cricketer that is in prime position. So they get very pleasantly surprised and open up pretty quickly. So I keep forcing them ‘Please don’t be formal’. Like sometimes if someone would accidently call me ‘aap’. I am like ‘What’s wrong with you. Why are you behaving this way?’ There is that little bit of hesitation but I try to ease them, ” he added.

Kohli is currently playing in IPL 2025. He going through a terrific form, scoring 505 runs in 11 matches with the help of seven fifties.