In a freewheeling chat, batting icon Virat Kohli picked the toughest bowlers he has faced in each format — Tests, ODIs and T20 cricket. In a viral video, Kohli labelled England’s James Anderson as the toughest bowler he has faced in Test cricket. He also added that facing Anderson in England was the toughest part of his career. In ODIs, Kohli picked a pacer and a spinner each. Kohli admitted that former Sri Lanka pacer Lasith Malinga was the toughest to face in ODI cricket, and gave a special shotuout to England’s Adil Rashid as the toughest spinner.
In the shortest format of the game, Kohli named KKR spinner Sunil Narine as the toughest he has faced.
Virat Kohli picks the toughest bowlers to face:
Test cricket – Jimmy Anderson.
ODIs – Malinga (Adil Rashid toughest spinner).
T20s – Sunil Narine.pic.twitter.com/xOC1h17xLD
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) May 3, 2025
Recently, Kohli recalled how former South African wicketkeeper-batter Mark Boucher had an impact on him during his initial years in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
RCB’s leading run-getter in IPL history was speaking on RCB Podcast’s upcoming episode, a trailer of which was released on the team’s official X handle.
Speaking on his conversations with Boucher, who he admitted called him to some golf games, Virat said, “Out of all players I played with initially, Boucher had the biggest impact on me. He figured out what my weaknesses could be, If I wanted to go to the next level, this is what I need to do, without me asking him anything. He told me that ‘when I comes to commentate in India three-four years from now and I do not see you playing for India, you would do a disservice to yourself. So he really stunned me with the conversations he had with me.”
Boucher played for RCB from 2008-10, when Virat was slowly finding his feet in international cricket and had not played Test cricket for India. In 27 matches, Boucher made 388 runs at an average of 29.85, with a half-century.
Virat also opened up on his loyalty to RCB, a franchise he has stuck with since the start of his IPL career, saying that the “relationship and mutual respect” he has with the franchise is more valuable.
“The love that I have received from the fans, I do not think any silverware or any trophy can come close to that,” he added.
(With ANI Inputs)
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