Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has shared a memory from 2011 when he spoke to Virat Kohli ahead of his Test debut against West Indies.
Kohli, who had already established himself in the limited-overs format, struggled in his first Test match. Despite being a key player in India's World Cup-winning team earlier that year, his transition to the Test arena didn't go as smoothly.
During the 2011 tour of West Indies, Kohli managed to score only 76 runs across five innings, resulting in a batting average of just 15.20.
Also on ABP Live | 16-Year-Old Farhan Ahmed Shatters 159-Year-Old Record with Stunning 10-Wicket Haul
In a podcast with Taruvar Kohli, Harbhajan revealed that after Virat Kohli's first Test series, he had lost confidence in himself.
Harbhajan revealed that he responded by encouraging him, telling him not to lose faith and to keep working hard, emphasizing that setbacks were a part of the journey.
"If I tell you something about his Test cricket, at the very beginning. We were in West Indies. On that tour, Fidel Edwards (former West Indies quick) had troubled him a lot, getting him out either LBW or against the short ball. He was getting out time and again, so obviously was very disappointed," Harbhajan Singh told Taruwar Kohli on the latter's podcast.
"He had self-doubt, questioned ‘If I am good enough?’ I told him ‘You will shame yourself if you don’t score 10000 runs. You have the capability of scoring 10000 runs in Test cricket. And if you don’t, it’ll be because of your own fault’. After that, what Kohli has done is a once-in-a-lifetime exception," Harbhajan concluded.
Also on ABP Live | 'Will Help RCB Win Maiden IPL Title': Batter Who Smashed 6 Sixes In 6 Balls Makes MASSIVE Claim
Despite a rocky start to his Test career, Virat Kohli has gone on to accumulate 8,848 runs with an impressive average of 49.15.