Pakistan bowler claims Virat Kohli admitted to get frightened with his pace in India

Former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Irfan made his international debut in 2010 at the age of 28. The left-arm fast bowler is quite popular for his height. At 7’1” (216 cm), Mohammad Irfan is the tallest-ever to play first-class cricket as well as international cricket. He last represented his national side in a T20I series against Australia ‘Down Under’ in November 2019. However, Mohammad Irfan was last seen in action when he bowled for Multan Sultans during the Pakistan Super League 2020 (PSL 2020) season.

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Pakistan pacer Mohammad Irfan reveals how he shocked Virat Kohli

During a chat with Pakistan broadcaster Sawera Pasha on her YouTube channel, Mohammad Irfan narrated an incident from Pakistan’s tour of India in 2012-13. He said that during the tour, the Indian players were telling him that he bowls at around 130-135 kph as instructed to them by their coaches and support staff. According to Mohammad Irfan, the Indian players did not think of him as a threat because of his mid-130s pace.

The left-arm bowler then talked about how he shocked the current Indian captain Virat Kohli with his pace during the same 2012-13 tour. The Pakistan cricketer said that Virat Kohli was also told by a support staff member about his 130-135 kph speed, which the batsman did not find threatening. However, Mohammad Irfan claims to have surprised Kohli with his pace by bowling his first delivery to him at 145-146 kph. According to the Pakistan bowler, the Indian batsman thought there was an issue with the speed gun but he was surprised to face a 147 kph delivery again.

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Mohammad Irfan then said that Virat Kohli told him “on the face” and admitted to abusing the person sitting next to him in the dressing room, the one who gave him wrong information about Irfan’s pace. The Pakistan cricketer narrated Kohli’s words to the aforementioned person by saying: “What sort of medium-fast bowler bowls close to 150 kph?”

Mohammad Irfan also spoke about troubling Virat Kohli during an interview with Samaa TV in October 2019. Speaking about the same tour, he said that the Indian batsman “couldn’t read his pace properly” in one of the T20 matches between India and Pakistan. The pacer then recalled the then non-striker batsman Yuvraj Singh’s advice to Virat Kohli where the all-rounder told the Indian captain to try to play a cut shot instead of a pull shot. Mohammad Irfan said that despite Yuvraj Singh’s advice, he dismissed Virat Kohli in the same over by getting him caught behind.

Irfan also claims often that he was the one who 'ended' Gautam Gambhir's India career after getting the better of him on the same tour as the batsman came back with lesser returns.

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Image credits: ICC Twitter and AP