Amit Mishra, former Indian cricketer and one of the most wily wrist spinners in the last 15 -20 years in India, recently appeared as a guest on a podcast with Shubhankar Mishra. The 40-year-old leggie discussed a lot of topics in the 2-hour long podcast. But as many times ex-Indian-cricketers tend to do, the most controversial part of the podcast was about Virat Kohli.
It was the Bansi-born veteran, who had a lot of opinions about Virat Kohli this time around. During the podcast, Amit Mishra was asked a very straightforward question by the podcaster, Shubhankar. He compared the kind of respect cricketing legends like Sachin, Dhoni and Rohit get in India and asked, “Does Virat Kohli get the same kind of respect in the cricketing field as other legends do on a personal level?” After a brief pause and a shake of his head, Amit Sharma answered, “Sabke saath toh nahi hogi, to be very honest.” (Definitely not with everyone).
He further said that as a cricketer he does respect Kohli, but otherwise their relationship has changed a lot. Comparing Kohli with Rohit, Sharma said, “Nature ka farak hai na” (they have different natures), Amit Sharma then shared his personal experience with Rohit Sharma saying, “He was the same when I met him the first time and he is the same when I meet him today… So whom would you relate more to? Someone who stays the same, or someone who changes according to the situation?”
Mishra went on to share a few anecdotes of his friendship with Rohit Sharma and was then asked the question which has now turned into a controversy. “Have you noticed a change in Virat Kohli?”, to which Mishra replied, “Bohot dekha” (a lot). He further added that there was a time when both of them didn’t even talk to each other. He blamed the power of captaincy and fame for this change in Kohli saying, “He(Kohli) had started feeling like everyone wants to talk with him for some or the other personal gain.”
A few years back, Yuvraj Singh had talked about Virat Kohli’s change of nature as well. And how he had not been clear with the veteran all-rounder about ICT’s plans about him. Amit Mishra shared how he had gone through something similar, along with other cricketers like Ambati Rayudu during the 2019 World Cup preparations.
What’s interesting to see is that while this may not be the first instance when ex-cricketers have talked against Virat Kohli’s nature, there are also many instances where current and former cricketers have talked positively about Virat. Apart from the controversy, whatever Amit Mishra has said about Virat should be taken with a grain of salt, as the two recently had an on-field spat during the 2023 season of the IPL, which could’ve inspired some of the things said on the podcast.
It’s no secret that Virat Kohli has a lot of respect for his seniors. It is quite evident from the way he respects his idol Sachin, and his former teammates whenever he is on and off the pitch. His on-camera interactions with seniors and teammates are proof of his nature. So as the saying goes, “One bad apple doesn’t spoil the whole bunch”. Same way, Amit Mishra’s personal experience with Kohli doesn’t and shouldn’t define who Kohli is.
