"You will not be spared today" - Junaid Khan recalls warning Virat Kohli about dismissing him during the 2012-13 series
Pakistan left-arm pacer Junaid Khan recalled how he warned Indian star Virat Kohli before dismissing him during the 2012-13 tour of India.
Renowned for his ability to make the new ball talk, Junaid dismissed Kohli in all three games of the ODI series that Pakistan won 2-1. He dismissed the champion batter for 0 and 6 in the first two ODIs at Chennai and Kolkata and continued his stranglehold by removing Kohli for 7 in the final game at Delhi.
Speaking on Nadir Shah's Podcast, Junaid recalled an incident ahead of the third ODI when he warned Kohli before picking up his wicket.
"I have taken wickets of so many batsmen but people always remember Virat Kohli’s wicket. We have played in the U-19 World Cup, we knew each other. It was my comeback series and I was playing against India for the first time. I got Kohli in the first match and he told me it will not happen again," said Junaid.
"I got him again in the second and third match. Before the third ODI at the breakfast table, I told him, ‘Virat you will not be spared today.’' Younis Khan was also there. He said get him out again today. Younis bhai took Virat’s catch."
Kohli scored only a single run in 21 balls against Junaid in that series while being dismissed thrice. However, the Pakistan pacer praised Kohli for the batter he has become over the years.
"Virat Kohli is still among the top five batsmen in the World. Especially in the white ball the way he has made records and has recently broken Sachin Tendulkar’s century record. He is a world-class batsman," stated Junaid.
Since the 2012-13 series, Junaid has bowled only five deliveries to King Kohli across the white-ball formats without any success. Despite a promising start to his career, the left-arm pacer has not played for Pakistan since 2019. The 33-year-old has a combined 189 wickets across formats in 107 games.
Meanwhile, Kohli is coming off an incredible 2023 World Cup, finishing as the tournament's leading run-scorer with 765 runs.
"Rohit Sharma is a better batsman between Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli" - Junaid Khan
Junaid Khan went on to pick Indian skipper Rohit Sharma over Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar among the three all-time legendary batters.
While Kohli recently broke Tendulkar's ODI centuries record with his 50th ton, Rohit is not too far behind with 31 centuries and a record three double centuries in ODIs.
"In my opinion, Rohit Sharma is a better batsman between Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. Everybody calls Rohit ‘The Hitman.’ He has scored an incredible 264. He has also smashed a couple of double hundreds in the ODIs. This is rare because he has done it more than once. He has also hit the most number of sixes. That’s why I would vote for Rohit," said Junaid.
However, Junaid chose Tendulkar over Kohli, stating that the former would have scored more centuries in the current era.
"Sachin batted in a different era. He would have scored more than 100 centuries in today’s time. He has played when the ball used to reverse," concluded Junaid.
Kohli also overtook Tendulkar to become the fastest to 13,000 ODI runs and broke the Little Master's record for most runs in a single ODI World Cup edition.
Incidentally, Junaid has never bowled to Tendulkar in his international career while he has conceded 42 runs off 39 deliveries to Rohit and dismissed him just once.