Online, a three-year-old clip with Australia skipper Pat Cummins discussing Virat Kohli’s ardent fan base in India has emerged. Cummins talked about how Indian media and fans “absolutely hounded” him, demonstrating the intensity and aggression of what is probably one of cricket’s most fervent fanbases. When Kohli scored a hundred against Australia six months later, Cummins tweeted that he hoped the player wouldn’t, and he received a barrage of responses. This incident was recounted in an interview with The Grade Cricketer podcast.
“Indian media…,” jokes Cummins, “if you live on social media at all, you get absolutely hounded.”
“Say anything about Virat Kohli, and look out for the next years,” added the 2023 World Cup winning captain
Cummins shares anecdotally of being targeted by followers of Virat Kohli over a tweet he believed to be a tribute to the legendary Indian batsman. “I felt it was a bit of a compliment, ‘He’s a great player, hope he doesn’t score a hundred because he’s a gun player,'” Cummins recollected about his tweet.
Cummins said that his phone “blew up” when Kohli scored a century, bringing out laughter from the podcast hosts.
The event in context is in 2018, when captain Kohli had slammed 123 in the second Test of the 2018-19 Border Gavaskar Trophy, in Perth. That was the only Test that India lost, in what turned out to be a historic series win down under.
Against Virat Kohli in recent games, Cummins has been victorious. Specifically, the 2023 World Cup Final, in which the bowler dismissed Kohli to finish the Indian innings. The Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Cummins’ Sunrisers Hyderabad team in the IPL 2024 Final, which he recently reached. Perhaps more matches between Kohli and Cummins will come as India and Australia are among the sides strongly expected to advance to the later stages of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
