• Home
  • Who Said What
  • Kohli Was Being A Bit Of An Idiot Alex Lees Reveals Sledge From 2022 Birmingham Test

'Kohli Was Being A Bit Of An Idiot…' Alex Lees Reveals Sledge From 2022 Birmingham Test

image-lo5ief3cAlex Lees and Virat Kohli during the 2022 Edgbaston Test (x.com)

Alex Lees, one of England’s earliest ‘BazBall’ graduates, played the sixth Test of his career when his side took on India in July 2022 at Birmingham’s Edgbaston Stadium. England, already trailing the five-match series 1-2, further conceded a 132-run first-innings lead to the tourists in the series-decider.

However, the hosts made up for their early slipups by pulling off a sensational run-chase heist in the final two days to level the series. Lees himself cracked a rapid 56-run assault on India’s new-ball attack on the fourth afternoon, and his opening blitzkrieg was later consolidated by collective carpet-bombing from that summer’s chase-masters Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root.

Notably, Indian batsman Virat Kohli was spotted riling up several England stars on numerous occasions throughout the Test match. Then six-Test old Alex Lees recently revealed some details about Kohli’s verbal antics and how the batting giant used his international stature to intimidate some of the young English members in the hosts’ playing XI.


Had 2 kids since Kohli last scored a century: Lees

In a new book, ‘BazBall: The Inside Story of a Test Cricket Revolution’, Alex Lees detailed his run-in with Virat Kohli during the 2022 Edgbaston Test match. The English opener stated that Kohli was constantly trying to get under people’s skin throughout the proceedings.

Lees stated that even though the Indian batting legend is an incredible player, he acted out like a “bit of an idiot” in that particular Test. The Yorkshire star said:

"Kohli was carrying on for quite a while. He was just carrying on in a fashion he can do sometimes. He had been getting under people’s skin in the field when he was batting. I’m not fussed about someone’s position in the game. We are all equal out on the pitch. I just wasn’t going to put up with someone trying to intimidate me. It was as simple as that. He is an incredible player, but I thought he was just being a bit of an idiot."

Alex Lees also added that at one point, he responded back with a cheeky comment by using Virat Kohli’s poor run of form as a metaphor against him. The Englishman quipped:

"I've had two kids since you last scored a century."

Lees was referring to Virat Kohli’s near three-year century drought in international cricket, which eventually ended with an Asia Cup 2022 ton against Afghanistan. Since then, the Indian maestro batter has slammed eight centuries at whopping rates.