Nevertheless, the duo has long-standing roots, as Rauf recently recalled when he played with Virat Kohli as a net bowler in Australia during India’s 2018-19 tour of Australia. After that, Rauf made his debut in 2020.

Narrated in the ESPNcricinfo documentary The Incredible Rise of Haris Rauf, the Pakistan bowler said: When I was a net bowler in the Indian team and played with Virat Kohli, I felt he knew exactly where the ball would hit his bat. He was very focused and that shows how sharp his concentration is.

Even while practicing at the net, I felt like I was playing a match against him despite being a bowler at the net. His amazing control and intensity helped me understand why he has such authority in the game.

Earlier, Rauf also spoke about Kohli’s knockout (82*) and the epic sixes that the Indian batsman made at the MCG: The way he [Kohli] played in the World Cup is his class, we all knowfor hire. The types of shots he takes. And the way he hit those sixes, I don’t think anyone else can hit like that off my bowling. If Dinesh Karthik or Hardik Pandya had hit such sixes, it would have hurt me, but they hit Kohli’s bat and he is a different class altogether.