Follow UsVirat Kohli announced retirement from Test cricket earlier this week via a static Instagram post, calling time on his illustrious career.
While many former players have accused Kohli of distancing himself from them after achieving stardom, Ishant Sharma remains one of Kohli’s childhood friends, and the pair have always shared a laugh on and off the field. Upon Kohli’s retirement from the format, the former Indian pacer recalled their childhood memories and how Kohli gave him the news of his Test selection.
“When our India debut came, the name of the team came…he kicked me and said, your name has come. He said, will you really play for India? I said, brother, let me sleep,” Ishant said in Star Sports Press Room ahead of his franchise Gujarat Titans’ clash with the Delhi Capitals.
“I think Virat Kohli (the star) is for outside people. I can’t see him like that because we played in the U-17s. He is a childhood friend of mine. When we were in the U-19s, we used to count how much money we had. We used to eat food. When we used to go to the U-19s, we used to save our TAs and take them with us. So, Virat Kohli is different for everyone. He is different for me.
“Imagine, your brother has reached such heights. Everyone is thinking that he is great. But you will see that at the end of the day, he is a human being. At the end of the day, you have spent a lot of time with him. You know him in and out. You know where he has come from, how he is, and how he is not. I have never felt that he is Virat Kohli. For us, he is Cheeku. We have always seen it like this. He has also seen me like this. We are sleeping together and sharing a room,” the pacer added.