Virat Kohli Said "Wo Tujhe Maarne Aaya": Ishant Sharma Narrates Epic Story That Got Him Suspended

While his batting records are impressive, Virat Kohli's most enduring legacy may well be his tenure as India's Test captain. Appointed full-time Test captain in 2015 following MS Dhoni's retirement from the format, Kohli took India from 7th to the pinnacle of the format is less than two years. During his stint as captain, Kohli brought the best out of players with his aggressive brand of cricket. However, his childhood friend and former teammate Ishant Sharma has revealed that the former India captain's excessive motivation has also backfired at times. 

Ishant recalled that he was handed a one match ban by the ICC during Kohli's first series as Test captain, against Sri Lanka. He revealed how Kohli added fuel to fire, following his altercations with a few Sri Lankan players, which eventual led to sanctions by the ICC.

"This happened during the 2015 Sri Lanka Test series. Dhammika Prasad was bowling bouncers at me. I took a single and as I was reaching the non-striker's end, I told him, 'You are too slow to hit me on the head'. This is what started it. Then, him and I kept going back-and-forth. But suddenly, Dinesh Chandimal came from third man, and he elbowed me. In the heat of the moment, Ashwin got out, and I ran back to the dressing room - because I had to change my shoes. When I was doing it, I suddenly saw that Ravi Shastri and Sri Lanka's manager were leaving the dressing room. They thought that Dhammika and I had fought with each other. However, Dhammika Prasad followed me all the way into the Indian dressing room," he said on Raj Shamani's YouTube channel.

Ishant was first fined 65% of his match fees after giving two Sri Lankan batsmen a send off during the second Test. He then had an agitated confrontation with Dhammika Prasad in the final Test and consequently received a one match suspension.

"Virat knows how to rile me up. I was unaware. That's when Virat told me, 'Woh tere peeche tujhe maarne aa gaya, aur tune kuch nahi kiya? Dhammika Prasad tujhe maarne aaya tha' (He came all the way to beat you, and you didn't do a thing?) Then made me watch the clip where Chandimal elbowed me. And I swear, I went mad. I am usually not that aggressive but that day, my protective mode crept in. By then, my match fee had already gotten deducted. Then I went out to bowl, dismissed three batters and celebrated on their face. And got banned."

However, the 37-year-old pacer played a vital role in India's series clinching win in Colombo, bagging eight wickets in the match to join the 200 wicket-takers club.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Sri Lanka Cricket Team Virat Kohli Ishant Sharma Cricket