Virat Kohli, the current skipper of the Indian cricket team, is currently ranked as one of the best batsman in the world. The right-handed star batsman has been team India's skipper since 2013 and since then he has been recipient of many awards and is the only cricketer to feature in Forbes magazine. The Delhi-born holds the record of being the fastest batsman to score 8,000, 9,000, 10,000 and 11,000 runs in One-Day-International cricket. ALSO READ | IPL Records: Andre Russell To Chris Gayle, Players Who Hit Maximum Number Of Sixes In Last 12 IPL Seasons
Recalling his first encounter with Virat Kohli, veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh recently stated, "I had heard Virat Kohli’s name before the IPL auction from Lalchand Rajput. In an IPL game, I was the captain of the Mumbai Indians, Sachin paaji was sitting out. Virat Kohli hit Jayasuriya for a six by stepping out of his crease,” Harbhajan said on Star Sports’ show ‘IPL memories’.
He further added, "He was not afraid of the fact that a man of Jayasuriya’s stature was bowling to him. That showed me that he is one for the future," Harbhajan opined.
Meanwhile, team India's former all-rounder Irfan Pathan also said, "Whenever I used to watch Virat Kohli in the IPL, I used to see only one man. A young man who is enjoying both on the field as well as off the field. But he never sidelined cricket.”
"The good thing is that he always kept his focus on cricket. This is why he is one of the best players in the world right now and it shows how much commitment he has," he further added.
Virat Kohli will be seen leading the Bangalore-based franchise RCB in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). RC will open their IPL 2020 campaign against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) on September 24th at Dubai International Stadium. The Virat-led RCB looks strong on paper every season but are yet to lay their hands on the IPL trophy despite getting so close to make it to the finals on three occasions.