The fascinating suggestions of fans following an intriguing social media banter between reigning Australian Open, US Open, and Roland Garros champion Novak Djokovic and Team India batting great Virat Kohli went viral on social media.
So many people are going to freak out the day this happens 😂😁
— Julie 🇫🇷🇬🇧 (@NDjokofan) January 14, 2024
Virat Kohli in cricket, Novak Djokovic in Tennis and Cristiano Ronaldo in football are one of the most disciplined athelete in the history of sports and they have proved that "Hard work always beats Talent"
— Shubman Gang (@ShubmanGang) January 14, 2024
AO 2025. Virat will be in Australia for test series. Set the date Nole. It will be a 🐐 date ❤️
Can't stop imagining it. It will be so EPIC & LEGENDARY
— Anurag Rekhi (@Dravidict) January 14, 2024
This will be a dream come true moment for us fans 😍❤️ pic.twitter.com/EAhUg9rUhi
— Cricket Uncut (@CricketUncutOG) January 14, 2024
On Sunday, Novak Djokovic replied to Team India talisman Virat Kohli's kind words after the two sporting greats spoke about their mutual admiration for each other on X, previously Twitter.
During the weekend, Virat Kohli caused a lot of stir on the internet after he disclosed the story related to how he connected with Novak Djokovic in a video shared by the BCCI on Twitter.
While some Virat Kohli admirers dubbed their interaction “insane”, others were just happy that an icon like Novak Djokovic followed the cricket star's career.
“I got in touch with Novak very organically, I was just looking at his profile once on Instagram and I just happened to press the message button. I thought I'd just say hello, maybe,” the former India captain revealed.
“And then I saw a message from him on my DM already. I never opened it myself. So, the first time I saw my own messages myself, I saw, he messaged me himself. And I was like, let me just check if it's a fake account or something like that,” Virat Kohli elaborated.
“But then I checked it again and it was legitimate. And then, yeah, we got talking. We keep exchanging messages every now and then. I congratulated him for all his amazing achievements,” Virat Kohli noted.
After the video went viral on the popular messaging app, Novak Djokovic responded to Virat Kohli's praise of him and also invited him to play with him.
“Thank you for these kind words, Virat Kohli. Looking forward to the day we play together,” Novak Djokovic wrote on X.
However, Novak Djokovic did not specify if he wanted to play a cricket match with Virat Kohli or whether he planned to challenge the superstar batter on a cricket pitch.
Previously, Novak Djokovic had revealed that he and Virat Kohli had become text buddies who often enquire about each other's well-being through exchanges on the phone.
“Virat Kohli and I have been texting a bit for a few years. We never got a chance to meet in person, but it was really an honour and a privilege to hear him speak nicely about me,” Novak Djokovic told Sony Sports Network.
“I obviously admire all of his career and achievements. I started to play cricket, but I'm not very good at it. But I have a task to perfect my cricket skills before I come to India, and don't embarrass myself, when I'm there,” he added.
Besides, Novak Djokovic shared a heartfelt post on Instagram following Virat Kohli's record-breaking 50th ODI hundred during last year's ODI World Cup in India.
Virat Kohli underlined that Novak Djokovic's message meant a lot to him.
“When I got my 50th century recently, he put out a story and he sent me a very nice message as well. So, there's been a mutual admiration, respect. It's really nice to connect with global athletes who are, you know, excelling at a high level. And I think, collectively, what I think about it is sending out a message of inspiration to the next generation in a way. I have a lot of respect for him, his journey, his passion for fitness, something that I dearly follow myself and believe in a lot. So there's a lot to connect on,” the Delhi-born cricketer mentioned.
“Hopefully If he comes to India sooner, I happen to be in a country where he is playing. I will definitely catch up with him and just chill out and maybe have a cup of coffee,” Virat Kohli summed up.
On the cricketing front, Virat Kohli returned to India's T20I set-up after 14 months on Sunday. He made an immediate impact as he smacked a breezy 29 off 16 balls against Afghanistan in the second match of the three-game series in Indore.
It was worth noting that Virat Kohli batted with intent from the word go against Afghanistan during the weekend after there was a lot of chatter on social media about his anchor role in T20Is.
The 35-year-old took little time to open his shoulders after he arrived at the crease as he struck boundaries at will. But in his attempts to keep a healthy strike rate, Virat Kohli was caught in the thirty-yard circle as he tried to clear mid-off with an aerial shot.
Despite his dismissal at 29, Virat Kohli's new batting template earned him rich praise from fans on social media as “King Kohli” emerged as one of the top trends on the microblogging platform.
On the other hand, former India opener Aakash Chopra admired Virat Kohli's aggressive approach before calling for his inclusion in India's T20 World Cup squad because he reckoned that he could hold the team together, especially during situations of crisis.
“I think he did something like this before the last T20 World Cup. He tried to hit from the word go. See, he is capable of doing it. If Virat Kohli decides that he wants to be aggressive from the word go, if he wants to show that kind of intent, he will do it. No doubt about it,” Aakash Chopra said in a conversation with Jio Cinema.
“But you have to think about what avatar of Virat Kohli is best suited for the team. You have to figure that out. Going after every delivery — that approach will neither suit Virat nor Rohit, I will be very honest.
“When you are talking about the West Indies and the USA, the pitches there are likely to be in the range of 150-160. They are not going to be 200-220 pitches. If that is going to be the case, then Virat Kohli needs to be the anchor. He needs to take the game deep and hold the innings together. His approach will give freedom to the rest of the players. I think his role in T20s is going to be the same,” he continued.
“If you expect Virat Kohli to come and strike every delivery and score at at a rate of 180-200, you will be underselling Virat Kohli.You need Virat Kohli's strike rate to stay at 139, if he goes in search of 189, then his consistency will go away,” Chopra said.
“Why are we scared of going into the jungle? Because there is the lion. The lion doesn't eat you all the time, but the fear is there because you know that the lion is there. Likewise, Virat Kohli is the lion here. He will be there in the middle, he might not hurt you as much, but you know till the time he is there, the chances of India winning are high. He will be able to switch gears anytime and finish games.
“It's important that Virat Kohli stays in the middle like it's important for the lion is there in the jungle. Whether it hunts or not is a separate story,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
With India leading 2-0 in the three-match series, Rohit Sharma and his men will be looking to complete a whitewash against Afghanistan on Wednesday.
The third and final game of the series between India and Afghanistan will be played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Jan 17, where Virat Kohli will look to boost his confidence regarding his new-found explosive style of play.
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