The friendship between Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma is not something hidden. From playing together in Delhi's domestic circuit to representing India, the duo are first-hand witnesses to each other's career trajectory, and often share tales from their journey. With Kohli announcing retirement from the Test format earlier on Monday, Ishant shared another unheard story involving the duo.
The ex-India pacer recounted a humorous episode about how Kohli had told him about the pacer's call-up to India. Ishant joined the national squad shortly before Kohli. “When our India debut came, the name of the team came…he kicked me and said 'your name has come'. He said 'will you really play for India!' I said 'brother let me sleep',” said Ishant on Star Sports Press Room.
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Sharma, who has played with Kohli from the U-17 level to the senior Indian team, stated that, to him, Kohli would always remain "Cheeku" rather than the celebrity that other people perceive him as.
“I think Virat Kohli (the star) is for outside people. I can’t see him like that because we played in the U-17s. He is a childhood friend to me. When we were in the U-19s, we used to count how much money we had. We used to eat food. When we used to go to the U-19s, we used to save our TAs and take them with us. So, Virat Kohli is different for everyone. He is different for me,” said Ishant.
“Imagine, your brother has reached such heights. Everyone is thinking that he is great. But you will see that at the end of the day, he is a human being. At the end of the day, you have spent a lot of time with him. You know him in and out. You know where he has come from, how he is and how he is not. I have never felt that he is Virat Kohli. For us, he is Cheeku. We have always seen it like this. He has also seen me like this. We are sleeping together and sharing a room,” the pacer added.
Meanwhile, Kohli too had addressed the episode when Ishant played his 100th Test. “I have known Ishant for many years now. He started playing state cricket with me. From his first season onwards, we've been roommates for many years in state cricket and Ranji Trophy cricket. When he got selected for India, he was fast asleep in the afternoon and I had to kick him off the bed to say that you have been selected and he wouldn’t believe me. So, that's how far we go back,” Kohli was quoted as saying in an article posted on royalchallengers.com.
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