Finn Allen spotted having Virat Kohli's name on his bat
New Zealand batsman Finn Allen seems to be a big fan of Indian skipper Virat Kohli. The 22-year-old recently shared an innocuous-looking picture on his Instagram while posing in a Birmingham Phoenix jersey. The batter will be playing for the franchise in The Hundred.
But what caught everyone's attention was at the bottom of Finn Allen's bat. The Kiwi youngster seemingly has Virat Kohli's name written on his bat, although Kohli is spelt as Kholi.
Allen is also part of IPL outfit Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) which is led by Virat Kohli. The franchise picked the young Kiwi international as a replacement after Josh Philippe made himself unavailable for the 2021 season.
Finn Allen is yet to make his debut in the IPL, but he is one of the players to watch out for. The 22-year-old shot into the limelight after ending up as the top scorer in New Zealand's Super Smash T20 competition last season. The aggressive opener scored 512 runs at an average of 56, while his strike rate was at an impressive 193.
Virat Kohli recently shared a motivating message ahead of England series
Virat Kohli and co. are currently preparing for a grueling five-match Test series against England. India last won a Test series on English soil way back in 2007.
Ahead of the series, Virat Kohli shared a motivating message on Instagram while uploading a picture from his celebration when he scored a brilliant hundred at Edgbaston in 2018 against England.
Kohli wrote:
"Remember who you are and don’t let ANYONE convince you otherwise."
The innings of 149 from 2018 clearly meant a lot to the Indian skipper after his horror showing with the bat on England's tour in 2014.
In a podcast with Mark Nicholas earlier this year, Kohli went on to reveal he was depressed and felt like the loneliest guy in the world following his poor showing with the bat in 2014.
Kohli could only score 134 runs across 10 innings in 2014 at an average of 13.4. The batsman, however, showed his class four years later by smashing 593 runs in 2018 and thus ending debate about him not being a prolific scorer in English conditions.