Virat Kohli shuts down trolls for arch-rival Mitchell Starc in a rare yet touching flashback

In order to devote more of his attention to Test cricket and the ODI World Cup 2027, Australian bowling sensation Mitchell Starc has declared his retirement from the T20I game. When the renowned Indian player Virat Kohli backed Starc in January 2019, fans were taken aback. Everyone at the time was quite critical of the Australian player for his patchy performance in the test series against India.

In the historic 2-1 Test Series defeat to India, the left-armer took 13 wickets in seven innings at 34.53, which was less than his career stats of 199 Test wickets at an average of 28.91. Kohli ignored the commotion surrounding the left-arm fast bowler, whom he shared the dressing room with at Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) during the IPL, and instead urged Australia to support their top strike bowler.

"He is a very skilful bowler. He has got the right mindset. He has been your No.1 bowler for years now. I am a little surprised with the magnitude of the criticism that has come to him. If he is your best bowler, you give him space to work things out and not mount more pressure on him. Because you don’t want to lose a guy like that who is so skilled and wins games," Kohli said.

He further mentioned, "I wouldn't say they bowled badly, I would look at it as we have batted well. They have always bowled in areas which are challenging to you as a batsman. I mean Cummins bowled a spell to me and (Cheteshwar) Pujara, about nine overs in Adelaide, we hardly got eight runs in that spell. So we just played it out well. I think their bowling has been absolutely fine from where I see it."

Fans and commentators were startled by this gesture, which was surprising for a man who was known for his heated altercations with Starc on the pitch. Kohli's remarks demonstrated his appreciation for his arch-rival's generational talent and revealed a profound knowledge of the mental difficulties faced by fast bowlers.

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