Irrespective of what the recent narrative has been on Virat Kohli, with a few veteran cricketers over the last few months claiming that fame and power have changed the former India captain, the 35-year-old has remained generous towards his teammates. Whether it has been about helping youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal following their struggles in the nets, or gifting newbies a signed bat.
On Monday, India fast bowler Akash Deep was left on cloud nine after Kohli gifted him a signed bat ahead of the start of the two-match Test series at home against Bangladesh. Akash, who is currently part of India's training camp in Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium along with Kohli, shared a picture of the autographed bat as an Instagram story and captioned it, “Thank You Bhaiya”.
However, Akash's post left fans worried about India batter Rinku Singh, who earlier this year faced Kohli's wrath after he told him that he broke the bat the former India captain had given him a month before during the start of the 2024 IPL season.
What had happened between Kohli and Rinku?
On May 29, Kohli had handed one of his own bats to Rinku when Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) hosted Kolkata Knight Riders at the Chinnaswamy. An elated Rinku later took to social media to share a picture of it, and it instantly went viral. However, three weeks later, when KKR hosted RCB at the Eden Gardens, Rinku went to Kohli with the same request on the sidelines of their practice session in Kolkata, but the India star found himself amid an uncomfortable chat with the former Bengaluru captain, who was left fuming when told that the previous bat broke.
{{/usCountry}}On May 29, Kohli had handed one of his own bats to Rinku when Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) hosted Kolkata Knight Riders at the Chinnaswamy. An elated Rinku later took to social media to share a picture of it, and it instantly went viral. However, three weeks later, when KKR hosted RCB at the Eden Gardens, Rinku went to Kohli with the same request on the sidelines of their practice session in Kolkata, but the India star found himself amid an uncomfortable chat with the former Bengaluru captain, who was left fuming when told that the previous bat broke.
{{/usCountry}}However, a week after that viral conversation between Kohli and Rinku, the latter eventually received a second bat from Kohli.
Akash Deep set for second Test appearance
Aakash, inspired by veteran India fast bowler Mohammed Shami, earned his international debut for India in the Test format earlier this year in Ranchi, where he picked up three wickets for 83 runs.
After impressing the selectors earlier this month with a match-winning nine-wicket haul in the opening round of the Duleep Trophy, Akash was picked for the first Test against Bangladesh.