Virat Kohli loves it when teammates show aggression, states Ishant Sharma
Ishant Sharma has stated that Virat Kohli loves it when his teammates show aggression on the pitch and does not tell the players anything for it. He also recalled the series against Australia, where he revealed that he tried his best to upset Steve Smith on an uneven pitch in the Bengaluru Test.
Since Virat Kohli has taken over the captaincy, the focal importance in the playing XI has been given to the pace bowlers. Under Kohli’s leadership, India have developed itself as a world-class pace unit, with a Test series win Down Under to their name. Pacer and integral part of the new Indian team, Ishant Sharma stated that Kohli loves it when his teammates show aggression.
“He is an aggressive captain, he loves it when you show aggression and he doesn’t tell you anything for that,” Ishant told BCCI.
He also revealed that the only thing the 31-year-old told him was not to get banned after the incident in Sri Lanka. Playing against Dinesh Chandimal and co, Ishant Sharma got in an altercation with the wicketkeeper, which resulted in a one-game ban for both the players.
“He always says just get me the wicket and do whatever you want. He just tells me not to get banned. So, when I was banned in Sri Lanka he came again and said do everything you want but just don’t get banned,” he further added.
After the lanky pacer’s spell against Australia during his early days, the Delhi pacer’s antics against Steve Smith in the 2017 series at home caught the attention of all. He revealed that his only aim in the Test was to upset the Australian top-order batsman and get him out of the comfort zone.
“We had lost the Pune Test, and the series was on the line. The wicket on Bengaluru had its ups-and-downs. You try your best to upset the batsman. He was playing, and doing all sorts of things. I tried my best to upset him. I knew if I could get his wicket, we can win the match. So, I was trying to get him out of his comfort zone. I knew if he became comfortable, he could win the match.”