“Sledging is not nasty anymore”: Virat Kohli exclaims how IPL has led to much more mutual respect between Indian and Australian players

Chants of ‘RCB, RCB’ were back at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru with full vigour and intensity a couple of days ago during the ‘RCB Unbox Event‘, as fans in the city will witness their favourite stars in action after three long years, with the 16th season of the IPL set to begin in just over a couple of days.

The three RCB legendary superstars in Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, and AB de Villiers were greeted with a thunderous roar from the jam-packed stadium, as the fans were allowed to witness the squad’s entire practice session on the day.

The excitement amongst fans was there to see. The franchise has had the constant support of its ever-loyal fans, even as the wait for their maiden IPL title has continued for the past 15 years.

However, the franchise and especially their aforementioned star players have made sure that their fans keep getting entertained year-after-year, be it via events, showcase of players’ camaraderie, or their interaction videos via their social media handles.

With a week to go before the start of the new IPL season, de Villiers, via his YouTube channel had one such special interaction with Kohli, where he spoke his heart out on myriad topics.

Virat Kohli exclaims how IPL has led to much more mutual respect between Indian and Australian players

The above mentioned interaction had taken place just before the third ODI between India and Australia a few days ago, when the series was level at 1-1. De Villiers had asked Kohli as to who he reckons it the ‘nastiest’ player in the Australian team presently.

The former Indian captain was of the view that while the competitive nature of the players from both the Indian and the Aussie teams remain the same, the IPL has brought about more mutual respect and admiration amongst the players over the years.

Hence, while the intensity of the battle remains the same, the players from both the teams, especially the experienced ones have started feeling much more grateful for being able to compete against each other for so many years now.

“Tension between the two teams has significantly gone down” – Kohli

Explaining in detail his entire opinion on the matter, Kohli stated, “The verbals and the sledging bit of it is not nasty anymore. Its become a game of lot more mutual respect and admiration. They (Australians) are as intense while playing, but the stuff which was too intense, the tension between the two teams has significantly gone down.”

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