Sohail recalls a heated exchange with Virat Kohli: Cricket matches between the arch-rivals India and Pakistan are always quite intense. There haven’t been many heated incidents on the field in the last four or five years, but in the past, players from both teams didn’t need a second invitation to lose their cool. The renowned Indian captain MS Dhoni has been a witness to many of those incidents. In reality, he served as the peacemaker on a few occasions, most notably when Kamran Akmal and Gautam Gambhir sparred during the drinks break in the 2010 Asia Cup. Dhoni was the one who pulled the left-handed Indian opener from the argument.
Another incident occurred during an India-Pakistan game at the Adelaide Oval in Australia in 2015 during the opening match of the 50-over World Cup, where Dhoni had to intervene. It involved Pakistan bowler Sohail Khan and then-India vice-captain Virat Kohli. The former said that Kohli was the one who initiated the verbal conflict. Virat allegedly addressed Sohail Khan during the match, after which the bowler made a response.
Fast bowler Sohail Khan recently discussed a heated exchange he had with Indian cricket player Virat Kohli in a podcast. Sohail claimed it occurred during Pakistan’s 301-run chase when he entered the to bat. When Sohail made his way towards the centre, India was in command and just two wickets away from stealing yet another victory over their bitter rivals. The right-arm pacer said that Kohli approached him after making a magnificent 107 off 126 balls and stated, “You’ve just arrived and you speak so much.”
Sohail Khan said: “I was a Test cricketer back then. I had played Test matches in 2006-07. Then in between, I endured a troubled knee that forced me out of action. I said, ‘Son when you were playing Under-19 for India, your father [referring to himself] was a Test player. That’s how I said it. Then if you see carefully, Misbah intervened, and he got angry at me. He asked me to keep quiet.”
The teams’ leaders, Dhoni and Misbah-ul-Haq, then stepped forward to put out the fire, said the lanky fast bowler, who claimed five wickets in that game.
Then if you see carefully, Misbah intervened and he got angry at me. He asked me to keep quiet. Then MS Dhoni also came and told Kohli to back off. ‘He’s an old bloke; you don’t know him.’ Kohli then went and stood in one corner,” he added.
India eventually won that Pool B encounter by 76 runs. In the semi-finals, they were defeated by eventual winners and hosts, Australia. On the other hand, Pakistan was unable to reach the semi-finals.
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