Former Australia batter Joe Burns has shared a story from his Test debut in 2014 that shows just how sharp Virat Kohli can be on the field.
Burns, who now captains Italy, recalled that he tried to sledge Kohli during the famous Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. At the time, Kohli was batting brilliantly and closing in on a century.
“I had been standing close for hours and hadn’t said a word. Finally, I decided to say something and told Virat, ‘You got to play some shots,’” Burns said in an interview with Crictracker.
The reply he got is now the stuff of legend. Kohli paused, stopped Nathan Lyon mid-delivery, looked straight at Burns, and said, “You don’t talk, rookie.”
What happened next only added to the humiliation for the young Australian. On the very next ball, Kohli smashed a boundary through covers.
“It was so embarrassing for me. I didn’t speak another word for the next four days,” Burns admitted.
The incident made Burns realise why Kohli is regarded as one of the fiercest competitors in cricket. “That showed me Virat was not someone to mess with. As a debutant, I wasn’t really in the position to be saying anything to him,” he said.
Burns, however, also praised Kohli for shaping India’s identity in Test cricket. “Even today, you can see how India plays with the same fearless mindset that Virat built during his captaincy,” he added.
Looking back, Burns said he avoided eye contact with Kohli for the rest of the game. “He’s world-class, one of the greatest of all time. You don’t want to give him extra motivation,” he concluded.