Serbian tennis icon Novak Djokovic congratulated star Indian batter Virat Kohli for a outstanding Test profession on Monday. Virat despatched shockwaves throughout the cricketing fraternity and the Indian group into a necessity for a sudden and difficult transition, simply days after batter Rohit Sharma introduced his retirement from the format forward of India’s tour to England of 5 Tests, which can begin the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 marketing campaign.
Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion, took to Instagram to congratulate Virat on a profitable Test profession, saying, “Incredible innings!”. Notably, Virat shares an awesome bond with Djokovic and has even admitted to exchanging texts with him.
In an interview with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in January final yr, Virat mentioned, “I got in touch with Novak very organically. I was just looking at his Instagram profile once and happened to press his “Message” button. I thought I would say him ‘Hello, maybe.’ Then I saw a message from him on my DM already. I never saw it myself. The first time I saw my own messages, I saw that he had messaged me himself. Then I was like, let us check if it is a fake account or not. But then I checked it, and it was legitimate. Then we started talking, exchanging messages every now and then. I would congratulate him on all of his fantastic achievements,” recalled Virat throughout that interview.
Virat mentioned that when he received his fiftieth ODI century throughout the ICC Cricket World Cup semifinal in opposition to New Zealand final yr, Djokovic despatched him a pleasant message and put up a narrative for him, congratulating him.
“There has been mutual admiration and respect. It is nice to connect with global athletes who are excelling at a high level. Collectively, it is sending out a message of inspiration to the next generation in a way,” mentioned Virat.
Virat had additionally mentioned that he has plenty of respect for Djokovic, his journey as a participant, and his ardour for health. He expressed hope of assembly the Serbian icon quickly.”I have a lot of respect for him and his journey; his passion for fitness is something I follow and believe in myself. So there is a lot to connect on. Hopefully, when he comes to India or if I happen to be in a country where he is playing.”
Various different sporting personalities similar to India’s World Champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, England and Bayern Munich footballer Harry Kane, Indian desk tennis star Manika Batra additionally congratulated Virat on a profitable Test profession within the feedback part of Virat’s official retirement assertion on Instagram.
He made his Test debut in June 2011 in opposition to the West Indies. While his first Test tour was a large disappointment with simply 76 runs in 5 innings, a younger Virat made a reputation for himself with some severe, counter-attacking knocks within the coming days.
His rise as a Test participant began together with his maiden ton in opposition to Australia at Adelaide in 2012, when he made 116 in 213 balls. In a tour the place no different might contact 300 runs for India and giants like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, and Virender Sehwag seemed a shadow of their dominant selves, Virat top-scored for India with 300 runs in 4 Tests, together with a century and fifty.
Between 2011 and 2015, he made 2,994 runs in 41 Tests at a mean of 44.03, with 11 centuries and 12 fifties in 72 innings.
Between 2016 and 2019, Virat had one of many strongest batting primes ever for a Test cricketer, piling up 4,208 runs in 43 Tests at a mean of 66.79, with 16 centuries and 10 fifties in 69 innings and the perfect rating of 254*. This additionally included seven double centuries, most by a captain in Test cricket historical past.
However, the 2020s haven’t been nice for the famous person batter, having made simply 2,028 runs in 39 Tests at an underwhelming common of 30.72, with simply three centuries and 9 fifties to point out in 69 innings. His numbers acquired a lift from a high-quality 2023, the place he made 671 runs in eight Tests at a mean of 55.91, with two centuries and two fifties in 12 innings.
During this entire time-frame, Virat battled some notable weaknesses within the format, notably in opposition to deliveries exterior the off-stump line and in opposition to spinners.
He ended final yr with simply 382 runs in 10 Tests at a stunning common of twenty-two.47, with only one century and fifty in 19 innings. His final Test outing was the Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour to Australia from November-January, the place he made simply 190 runs in 9 innings at a mean of 23.75, together with his century at Perth being a spotlight.
That century was his first since July 2023, when he hit a ton in opposition to the West Indies at Port of Spain in 2023. Also, his final century at house got here in opposition to Australia in early 2023 throughout the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Ahmedabad.
Topics talked about on this article
