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Shane Warne on Virat Kohli: Here’s why the legendary spinner loves the Indian captain

Dixit Bhargav
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Shane Warne on Virat Kohli

Shane Warne on Virat Kohli: The legendary spinner was wax lyrical about the Indian captain and opened up on the Pandya-Rahul controversy.

There is no hiding to the fact that India captain Virat Kohli has superabundant fans across the world. Given his run-spree in the last few years, there are not many doubts regarding the same not happening. Among one of Kohli’s fans is former Australia leg-spinner Shane Warne.

Shane Warne on Virat Kohli

In a recent exclusive interview with The Times of India, Warne admitted being a ‘big fan’ and appreciated how the Indian captain bats and speaks.

“He’s fantastic. I love watching him bat and I love listening to him. I am a big fan. You know what he does? He stands up for what he believes in. He speaks how he feels and he’s real. He’s emotional, a bit too emotional sometimes on the field. But that’s the part of the charm,” Warne was quoted as saying.

Laying emphasis on Kohli’s honesty and tendency to confront his opponents, Warne believed it to be a reason behind Kohli’s 24 ODI centuries while chasing. “I think world cricket loves him. Everyone loves Virat Kohli because it’s refreshing to hearing him talk so honestly and openly. He loves confrontation.

“That’s why he has those 100s in chases. How many, 23, 24? The next best is how much? I can’t remember who’s second. That’s something inbuilt into you. That’s not skill or talent. He’s got a lot of that. That is just pure competitiveness and pure desire – to get the job done,” Warne added.

Shane Warne on Pandya-Rahul controversy

Been part of several controversies during his playing days, Warne also reflected on the recent controversy which handed individual bans to India cricketers in Hardik Pandya and Lokesh Rahul. Warne opined that the players always expected to be politically correct is ‘ridiculous’.

“Good lord. As I said, it’s all about political correctness these days. If a player steps out of line, everybody has an opinion and I thought that this particular thing was ridiculous. Just let them be,” Warne further added.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Dixit Bhargav

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Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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