Back in 2017, after a rather hostile Border-Gavaskar series, captain Virat Kohli had revealed how several of his Australian-friendships had ended. It has been 3-years since, and he has already detoured from his word on several occasions. The most-recent instance came earlier this Saturday, when him and Australia opener David Warner engaged in a light-hearted banter on Instagram.
The Australian team has just flown back home from India, where they partook in a 3-match ODI series. Despite losing the series 2-1, the Kangaroos put up a good fight against the hosts. They had actually succeeded in landing the first-blow, when they won the series-opener in Mumbai by 10-wickets. David Warner had emerged as the Man of the Match in that game, courtesy his swashbuckling innings of 128-runs. With his 18th ODI century, Warner continued on the good-run of form he enjoyed right from the home season last-year. The south-paw scored his maiden T20I and test-triple hundreds against Pakistan, and weeks later, compiled a match-winning ton against New Zealand. Include his impressive World Cup and IPL campaigns, minus the Ashes in England, and fans get an idea of the fabulous comeback he made last year.
So it’s no surprise that a player of his caliber is all geared-up for producing better performances this year. On Saturday, Warner made a post on his Instagram account, showing-off a ‘stock-check’ of his impressive collection of bats. The picture featured as many as 18 bats, all of sublime quality. That’s when the India skipper decided to drop-in a bit of his own humor. Kohli commented, “And you wanted one more bat from me (sic)”. Warner was quick to send back a witty reply, claiming that he only wanted one-more bat. Here’s an image of the conversation.
Improving relationships between Aussie and Indian cricketers
This rapport is only a single-bit of evidence of the improving camaraderie between players of both the countries. Despite sharing an intense on-field rivalry, players from both the sides seem to enjoy one another’s company. In fact, Warner and Kohli had, supposedly, made dinner-plans for one of the post-matches. Warner’s family seems to be fond of Kohli, particularly his daughter, who imitated the Indian captain’s batting style in a video.
From the Indian perspective, Kohli does well to reciprocate all the love and respect to the Aussies. Recently, the ICC even celebrated this sportsmanship with the Spirit of Cricket award, by commemorating Kohli for his warm gesture towards Steve Smith and Warner. Back when both teams clashed in the 2019 World Cup, Kohli signaled to the crowd to check their behavior. The crowd was jeering Smith and Warner for their heinous involvement in the infamous ‘ball-tampering saga’ of 2018. Kohli urged the fans to clap for Smith and Warner; and the noble-gesture won the hearts of many a fans.