Ramiz Raja reveals Imran Khan's admiration for Indian skipper Virat Kohli

Imran had recently congratulated Indian team for their thumping win in Australia.

Imran Khan | GETTY

India's win over Australia in their own backyard has made so much noise that even Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan congratulated the Indian cricket team for their achievement. It was the first time an Asian team won a Test series in Australia. 

The tweet of former Pakistan World Cup-winning captain was, "Congratulations to Virat Kohli and the Indian cricket team for the first ever win by a subcontinent team in a test series in Australia" after India won the series 2-1 against Australia.

Despite referring to the whole team, Imran's tweet had specific mention of Virat. Ex-cricketer, now a commentator, Ramiz Raja shed light on it and said Imran is a huge admirer of Kohli. "We were invited over for his oath-taking ceremony. Obviously, it was a kind of cricket meeting with 10-12 of us. One of the first few things he said was comparing Virat Kohli to Sachin Tendulkar. That was quite interesting.

"Obviously, it meant he follows the game, follows the players, and he has held Kohli in high regard for his approach to the game and how he has featured so strongly for India. He is a batsman who gets the runs when India need them the most.

"That's what has impressed Imran about Kohli. The other important point is that he is a sportsman at heart. He thinks like a common man, he is not a typical politician. He is seen in Pakistan more as a reformist and in that tweet, a sportsman was speaking," Raja told Mumbai Mirror.

Ramiz acknowledged even Pakistan is happy after India's series win in Australia. "Having been there, I found it extremely tough to beat Australia; this is an excellent win. Kohli is right in mentioning that it is the greatest achievement in cricketing terms. We are all very happy for what India has achieved. They richly deserved it too. They were the better side, it was a one-horse race," he said.

The famous commentator believes this win if first of many for Asian teams in Australia. "India's win has opened the doors for the subcontinent sides who will now feel a little bit confident going there. It was a good time to be there because they did not bat that great. Whether they had the strength or not, it is a great achievement," Raja added.

(With Mumbai Mirror Inputs)

 
 

By Sihyeu Singh - 10 Jan, 2019

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