In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa recollected an unlikely bond with the captain of the Indian Cricket Team Virat Kohli. Playing alongside in the Indian Premier League franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore, Zampa revealed how different King Kohli is off the field.
Added to the RCB squad in the last minute, the leggie did not feature in a lot of games. From three games in the UAE, Zampa salvaged only two wickets. But he revealed a lot about Kohli and how they bonded over ‘meat-free diets.’
From their last encounter in the 2016 Twenty20 World Cup, Zampa recalled his perception about the Indian run machine. Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 82 off 51 balls to see his team home by six wickets, which the Aussie described, “unbelievable, probably the best T20 innings I’ve seen live.”
“Around that time I first played against him he definitely had that aura,” Zampa quipped.
When he travelled to Dubai with the RCB squad, he recalled, “It was the first day I arrived [and] he WhatsApped me. I didn’t have his number. He made it as if we’ve known each other forever.”
“He’s absolutely not what you see on the cricket field. He always brings his intensity to training and the game; he loves competition, he hates losing as much as anyone. He probably shows it more than anyone. Once he’s off the park, he’s the most chilled guy. He’s watching YouTube clips on the bus, he’ll laugh out loud.”
“There was a cricket clip recently from cricket.com.au, there was a funny run out, he was laughing about it for three weeks’ straight. He loves holding onto jokes like that He talks about coffee, travelling, food – ‘Zamps, do you want a Beyond Meat burger?’ – because he’s a vegetarian himself. He’s a really cultured guy. He’s good to talk to, good fun.”
“One night he took me aside and talked to me about his travels through Nepal. He’s always talking to me about his new coffee machine. He’s a pretty normal bloke.”
“The one thing you take away from spending time with those guys is they’re as much of a human being as you are,” exclaimed Zampa.
