Former England captain and commentator, Kevin Pietersen, recalled an incident from the Indian Premier League (IPL 2010) when he got angry at a young Virat Kohli for getting him run out.
Notably, Pietersen and Kohli played together in the IPL for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Well, the former England batter played 7 seasons of IPL and played for teams like the Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals) and Rising Pune Supergiants, whereas Kohli has been with the RCB since 2008 season.
Well, coming back to the incident that took place during the IPL 2010, when Kohli ran Pietersen out against the Rajasthan Royals (RR).
At the time, Pietersen was RCB’s skipper, and he didn’t think twice before venting his wrath on the young batter for getting him run-out in that IPL match.
But Kohli managed to finish the game and took RCB over the line against RR. However, at that time, the former England captain knew that Kohli was destined for greatness.
Pietersen recalled on Betway's YouTube channel: “I was winning the game for us against Rajasthan Royals in Rajasthan in Jaipur, and he ran me out. And I gave him an absolute serve walking off the field. But you could see a youngster who was destined and determined to get his team over the line.
He wasn’t just going to give his wicket away, and it didn’t matter how many Tests I had played or how much senior in the game I was. We do have an incredible friendship because I think maybe the way I treated him when he was a youngster and helped and guided him at the start of his career.”
He concluded, “Sitting in the bus with Virat, and batting with him, I knew that he was destined for greatness because of the way he approached the game, the way that he learned the questions that he asked. He was a chubby little fella in 2008/09/10 and I still take the mickey out of him for it. But his determination to be the best player he could possibly be was evident.”
