Virat Kohli is known for his aggression apart from his machine-like consistency before his form took a dip after 2019.
Virat Kohli‘s anger is something that the former India captain has used as a weapon in the past, propelling himself to mammoth centuries and often pushing his team’s cause forward while fielding. A number of current stars of the Indian team began their international careers under Kohli’s captaincy, which means that there may have been moments when they would have got a taste of Kohli’s aggression.
Star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was one such player, making his international debut during India’s 2018 tour of England and he admitted that while he is not scared of anyone, Kohli’s anger does frighten him.
“I am not scared of anyone but Virat Bhaiya ke gusse se dar lagta hai (I’m scared of Virat Kohli’s anger),” said Pant in a video on the Delhi Capitals’ twitter handle. However, Pant said that Kohli will only get angry when the player has done something wrong, which means that it becomes a way to avoid making the same mistake again.
“If you are doing everything correctly, then why should he (Kohli) get angry? But if you make a mistake and someone gets angry with you, it’s good because you only learn from your mistakes,” said Pant. Pant famously hit a six to get off the mark in Test cricket in his debut international match off Adil Rashid during the England tour. He has continued to play aggressively in the longest format and has become a regular in the Indian team, scoring 2123 runs in 31 matches at an average of 43.62, scoring five centuries.
He has found comparatively lesser success in the shorter formats of the game, although he recently managed to finally score his first white ball century in an ODI against England in Manchester.