When Virat Kohli took on an English cricketer who chatted up his ex-girlfriend
Former England cricketer Nick Compton has revealed how he got under the skin of Virat Kohli due to an incident involving the Indian captain's then-ex-girlfriend. This event took place before the series in 2012 against England.
Speaking on the 'Edges and Sledges Cricket Podcast', Compton talked about the time when he bumped into Virat Kohli's ex-girlfriend at the time, when he was out with players like Kevin Pietersen and Yuvraj Singh.
“I definitely got a few words from Virat Kohli during the series. I think I bumped into his ex-girlfriend at the time before the series when out for an evening with Kevin Pietersen and myself, Yuvraj Singh … all of us were there, and she was there."
'I don’t think Virat Kohli was very happy with that'
Compton talked about the effects of those conversations when he went in to bat for England. He stated that he was at the receiving end of a barrage of sledging aimed at him by Kohli himself.
He explained how he and his English team-mates tried unsuccessfully to use that against Kohli in the middle and get into his head. Despite the occasional chit-chat, Kohli scored heavily for India thereafter.
Compton, however, remembers the lighter side of that event and clarified that all banter was in good faith and stayed on the pitch.
“I just chatted to her and the word got back that I was speaking to her, and I don’t think Virat Kohli was very happy with that. He had a few words to say to me every time I walked out to bat. He was trying to say that it was his girlfriend, and she was saying that it was her ex-boyfriend. It was like, ‘Who’s got the story right here,’ you know what I mean?”
Compton said that Kohli still scored a hundred in the last game at Nagpur.
“It was quite funny at the time, and the players in our England camp caught hold of it. We used it as a way to keep winding him up and, you know, trying to get in his head... But he’s a world-class performer, and he came back and scored a good hundred in the last [game in Nagpur].
"And obviously his career has gone on from strength to strength. But it was a funny joke that we had throughout the series, and something that I always smile about. But everything was in good faith.”