Former India pacer Ishant Sharma reflected on his longstanding friendship with Virat Kohli which dates back to their early days in the Delhi cricket circles. He also recalled a quirky tale on how the former India skipper had informed him about the pacer’s India call up.
Both players made their international debuts in the late 2000s, with Sharma breaking into the national team just before Kohli. “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,” said Ishant.
Sharma who has played alongside Kohli from the U-17 level through to the senior Indian side, said that the former India skipper will always be Cheeku to him as opposed to the star that other people see.
“I think (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 to me. 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,” Ishant said in Star Sports Press Room ahead of his franchise ’ clash with the .
“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.
(With agency inputs)
