When Virat Kohli Wanted To Bat On A 'Dangerous Johannesburg Wicket'

image-lr0eh5e5Virat Kohli during India's 2018 tour of SA (BCCI)

Renowned for his mastery across formats, Virat Kohli stands as a luminary among contemporary batters, weaving a legacy that intertwines with the essence of superiority. The Indian legend has not only reaped the benefits of familiar home surfaces and modern-day’s batting-friendly rules, but has also excelled on the most adverse of playing conditions during India’s tough overseas tours.

Never one to back down from a challenge, former Indian fielding coach R Sridhar once recalled how Kohli went against everybody’s advice to bat on a dangerous surface just to prepare for a Test series in South Africa back in 2018.

When Virat Kohli batted on a dangerous wicket

Back in early 2023, former Indian fielding coach R Sridhar revealed one of Virat Kohli’s brave antics in his book “COACHING BEYOND: My Days with the Indian Cricket Team”.

Sridhar wrote that when Team India toured South Africa for an all-format series in 2018, Virat Kohli wanted to bat on the unused tracks just to prepare for Test matches. As per the fielding coach, the Indian batting legend ignored everybody’s advice and went on to bat on the side wickets, despite their “horrible” and “uneven” nature. Sridhar wrote:

“We were in South Africa in January 2018 preparing for a Test series. They had given us a county ground for practice. The pitches were horrible. There was one centre wicket on which we were practicing, but the side wickets at Western Province in Cape Town were far from ideal.”

“Virat saw that nobody was batting on the wicket because it could be a bit dangerous. He quickly padded up, called Sanjay, Raghu and myself and said he wanted to bat. We tried to dissuade him, but he was adamant he wanted to bat on the surface. ‘I want it to be dangerous, I want to bat on this dangerous wicket and I want Raghu to bowl at his fastest.’”

Virat Kohli’s hard work eventually paid off as he finished India’s three-match Test series against South Africa as it highest run-scorer with 286 runs. The cricketer punched out a majestic 153 in Centurion and a match-winning 54 at Johannesburg the following Test.

The ace batter carried his form to score another 593 runs in five away Tests against England later that same year during India’s subsequent overseas tour. As of today, Kohli remains one of the greatest all-format batters of all time, having conquered diverse playing conditions with utmost finesse and elegance.