“He’s way better at swinging the bat than we are at swinging the racquet” - Virat Kohli on Novak Djokovic playing cricket with Steve Smith
Team India batter Virat Kohli has quipped that tennis legend Novak Djokovic is way better at swinging the cricket bat than cricketers are at swinging the tennis racquet. He made the witty observation after Djokovic tried his hand at cricket during a charity game with Australian batter Steve Smith recently.
Smith and Djokovic played some tennis at the Rod Lever Arena in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open. The latter was impressed with the Aussie batter’s footwork while holding a tennis racquet and even bowed to appreciate his talent. Djokovic also tried his hand at cricket, but was not as impressive as Smith.
In an interaction with bcci.tv, however, Kohli praised Djokovic and said:
“I saw that clip of him and Steve playing a bit of cricket and tennis. I think he’s way better at swinging the bat than probably we are at swinging the racquet.”
The Indian batter also felt that Smith did a pretty good job in the game against Djokovic, but candidly admitted that he doesn’t feel he himself would be too good at playing tennis.
“I think Steve did pretty well to return his serve. When you play cricket and you have hand eye co-ordination, you are very tempted with racquet sports. You feel like, ‘ah, I can do this’. But, I have seen tennis matches live and I know how fast those serves are, so I probably don’t have a chance to touch that," Kohli said.
But yeah, it’ll be nice to probably do that with him as well. Probably the only thing I can teach him is how to hold the cricket bat,” he added.
Earlier, speaking to Sony Sports, Djokovic had praised Kohli and had even revealed that the two have been in touch via texts over the last few years.
“Have no doubt that we will see the Novak Djokovic that we have seen over the years” - Kohli’s special message for tennis star
During the interaction on bcci.tv, Kohli had a special message for Djokovic. He wished the Serbian tennis star all the best for the Australian Open and also asserted that fans would get to see the best of him in the tournament.
“Novak, I would like to wish you all the very best for the Australian Open. I know how excited and how prepared you are for these big events - the Grand Slams. And, I have no doubt that we will see the Novak Djokovic that we have seen over the years. I hope you have a great tournament,” Kohli said.
The 2024 Australian Open is being played from January 14 to 28. Djokovic is the defending champion in the Grand Slam event.