Amit Mishra, the veteran India spinner, has made an explosive revelation about Virat Kohli. He noticed a difference in his behavioural pattern after becoming captain. Mishra, who played a bit under Kohli’s captaincy between 2015/2017, while explaining the difference between Kohli and Rohit Sharma, pointed out how one changed with circumstances, while the other remained the same since the first day.
Kohli and Rohit started their India careers barely a year after the other, and over the next decade and a half, would go on to become the backbone of the Indian batting line-up. Having been through multiple heartbreaks, they finally won the big one together – a T20 World Cup – and even retired from T20Is on the same day. But while similarities galore in terms of batting stardom and fanbases, Mishra has contrasting relations with the two superstars of Indian cricket.
Speaking about his equation with Rohit, Mishra mentioned that he and the current India captain share a very jovial and friendly bond going back to the latter’s early days in cricket, but at the same time, does not expect the same from Kohli. Mishra also insisted that due to Kohli’s change in nature, he is left with fewer friends in the Indian team.
“Not everyone to be very honest,” Mishra told YouTuber Shubhankar Mishra on his show when asked if players have the same level of respect as they do for Sachin Tendulkar or MS Dhoni. “I won’t lie. As a cricketer, I respect him a lot, but I don’t share the same equation with him as I used to. Why does Virat have less friends? His and Rohit’s natures are different. I’ll tell you the best thing about Rohit. When I met him the first day and when I meet him today, he is the same person. So will you relate to him more or with someone who changes according to situation?
“I haven’t been part of the Indian team in years. Still when I meet Rohit during the IPL or any other event, he is always joking with me. I don’t need to think what he will think. We joke with each other. He is at the top but we still have maintained that rapport. He is the captain, won the World Cup and five IPL titles.”
Mishra, who made his debut in 2008, played 22 Tests for India, nine of which came under Kohli, including the last game of his career. During this time, he took 33 wickets, but the leg-spinner rued that his equation with Kohli took a hit with time, to the extent that they almost stopped talking. Yuvraj Singh, the two-time World Cup winner for India, had previously spoken about how he used to be friends with ‘Cheeku’, the young Kohli, but couldn’t continue the same bond Virat Kohli the star. Echoing the same sentiments, Mishra revealed something similar: the ‘huge difference’ in Kohli’s attitude when he became the captain and the success that followed.
Mishra, who made his debut in 2008, played 22 Tests for India, nine of which came under Kohli, including the last game of his career. During this time, he took 33 wickets, but the leg-spinner rued that his equation with Kohli took a hit with time, to the extent that they almost stopped talking. Yuvraj Singh, the two-time World Cup winner for India, had previously spoken about how he used to be friends with ‘Cheeku’, the young Kohli, but couldn’t continue the same bond Virat Kohli the star. Echoing the same sentiments, Mishra revealed something similar: the ‘huge difference’ in Kohli’s attitude when he became the captain and the success that followed.
