Virat Kohli recounted a bizarre encounter with a fan after a tour of England in 2014 where the said fan was giving him advice on his batting and even gave tips to MS Dhoni on his captaincy during a flight.
Kohli didn’t have a very good outing in the Test series in England in 2014, where he made just 134 runs in 10 innings. India lost the Test series 1-3. A lot was said in the media about the Indian team, then led by MS Dhoni, and about Kohli's place in the squad, leaving a gloomy atmosphere in the team even as they made a winning return in the white-ball leg.
Speaking on the latest episode of RCB Podcast season 2, Kohli recalled the incident where a fan approached him while he was on the flight from Kochi to Delhi, asking him about his form before saying that he “expects” a century in the next game.
“This incident was around 2014 when I wasn't getting much runs and was dismissed cheaply in the couple of one-day internationals. We were in a flight from Kochi to Delhi and the team was allotted seats in the front rows. A guy walked in who was a huge MS Dhoni fan and was from Chennai. So just as I got up from my seat, that guy saw me and went 'Kohli, what's going on? 'I expect a hundred from you in the next game',” the 33-year-old recalled.
Kohli admitted that the question and tone of that fan lit a fire inside him and he silenced him with a stern reply.
"I was young that flicked the switch in me. I asked him which company did he work for and what was his position, and told him that he should become the chairman in next three months. When he said how was that possible, I tried to make him understand that even I was trying hard but it isn't a video game," said Kohli.
Virat then reveals that the fan moved near MS Dhoni and gave him some captaincy tips. This led to the entire team reacting hilariously to the whole incident, leaving the fan laughing as well.
"He met MS and was obviously excited. But then he just started talking about team combination and captaincy and started giving tips. Dhoni was pretty patient and was hearing nicely. Till then the entire team started shouting 'Coach! Coach!' as he was trying to coach everyone and that's when he laughed it off and went back to his seat. It was a funny moment," he added.
(Hindustan Times inputs)
