‘This bloke reads everything on Twitter’: Adam Zampa narrates banter with Virat Kohli on IPL debut
Australia leg-spinner Adam Zampa recently opened up on the camaraderie that developed between him and Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli during the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League in the UAE. Zampa played only three games for RCB, in which he picked up two wickets. But during the series, Zampa saw a side of Kohli that he believes not many others know about.
“He’s absolutely not what you see on the cricket field. He always brings his intensity to training and the game; he loves competition, and he hates losing as much as anyone,” Zampa told Sydney Morning Herald.
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“He probably shows it more than anyone. Once he’s off the park, he’s the most chilled guy. He’s watching YouTube clips on the bus, and he’ll laugh out loud,” he added.
But while the two appear to be on good terms now, Zampa and Kohli had engaged in a bit of banter in 2017 when Zampa was playing his first season of IPL for Rising Pune Supergiant.
It was a record-breaking year for Kohli in IPL as he had scored 973 runs in that season. Zampa was set to make his debut for RPS against RCB. Before the match, his close friend Kane Richardson shared an image of Kohli standing with AB de Villiers on Twitter. In a moment of fun, Zampa wrote a comment that did not go down well with the Indian cricket fans.
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“I replied, typical, just taking the piss, ‘Who are they, mate?’” Zampa explains. “The Indian fans did not let me live it down. Virat had seen it,” the leg-spinner recalled.
“I played my debut, bowled an over to him, the last ball of the over he smacked it for four, came down to me and said, ‘Stay a long way from Twitter, mate’. Basically, pipe down,” he further added.
“I was like, ‘Geezers, this bloke reads everything on Twitter’. He went on to get 120 (Kohli had actually scored 105) that day. I stoked the fire,” Zampa further said.
India will play 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is, and 4 Tests against Australia, the first ODI will take place next week on Friday in Sydney.
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