While cricketers can say things to opponents in the heat of the moment, recently, a Netherlands star revealed what he said to India star when the Men in Orange took on the eventual champions India during the 2011 World Cup. After Kohli had got out, Wesley Barresi decided to give him the then youngster a send off, assuming he won't be able to make it big in international cricket. The Netherlands cricketer told him "we'll never see or hear from you again". However, Kohli has proved him wrong by miles by going on to become one of the finest cricketers ever to have played the game.
"Maybe I got slightly cocky that night, but looking at that Indian team, they had superstars galore, and Kohli was the youngster, the timing was perfect to hand out a bit of stick. He certainly proved us wrong," Barresi said during in inteaction on Cricbuzz.
"It was all part of the moment, and we were fired up. We had them on the ropes, they were three or four down, so we felt like we were in the game a little. It was an excellent opportunity to knock India over in India. The atmosphere and everything that was going on spurred us on a bit, and we might have gotten ahead of ourselves," he said during an interaction with Cricbuzz.
Barresi shared his experience of playing in India and playing against the legendary Sachin Tendulkar.
"The stadium was completely packed and painted blue everywhere. I just remember standing behind the stumps and seeing Sachin Tendulkar right in front of me," he said.
In the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 too, India will meet Netherlands. In the round-robin stage of the competition, the Men in Orange will be the hosts final opponent whom they will play on November 12 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.