'Virat bhai told me to smash the next ball...': Ex-RCB player suffers consequences of misunderstanding Kohli's instructions

Virat Kohli has solidified his position as one of the finest cricketers in the world for well over a decade now. Young players often seek to soak up as much knowledge as they can from him whenever they have the opportunity to interact with him. Getting the chance to play alongside Kohli in the same team is a unique experience for any budding batsman, as they can gain invaluable insights about the game by observing the exceptional skill and leadership of the former Indian captain up close. The Indian Premier League serves as an excellent platform for emerging cricketers to share the field with legends like Kohli and other renowned superstars, providing them with the opportunity to learn and grow as players.

Manan Vohra, who played over 50 matches in IPL, shared his experience of playing alongside Kohli during his time at RCB as he also compared the Indian star's batting temperament to veteran Virender Sehwag.

"Jitne Viru paaji calm hai utna hi Virat intense hai. Now, I don't know much about his mindset, but when I played with him in 2017, he was proactive and intense. He had the idea of what the bowler was planning against him in terms of speed and field placements. In T20 format, it's important for you to attack every ball, so he also used to tell me the same thing: 'Try to attack and hit a boundary, and if a single comes, it's fine'. So it's like you have to be there and match the frequency with him so that you replicate such kinds of things. Otherwise, an ordinary man can't do it; he was always looking to dominate the bowlers. He is number 1 in the world for some reason," Vohra said in a podcast on Taruwar Kohli's YouTube channel.

Being arguably the best all-format batter at present, Kohli carries an aura as young players listen to him very carefully and try to inculcate things in their game, but sometimes they also get carried away. Vohra recalled one such incident when he got a bit carried away and lost his wicket after listening to Kohli's command.

"When you listen to his command, you start feeling like you can smash every ball out of the ground, but you have to be sensible and pick and choose your shots. It was a challenge early on one or two occasions when I was looking to attack, got a bit confused, and got out. Once, we were playing against SRH, and Virat bhai came and told me to smash the next ball for a six off Sandeep Sharma's delivery. I went for a shot, which was not my strength, and got out. Then, after the match, he came to me and told me I didn't mean not to read the delivery, advised me to be a little sensible about my shot selection," he added.