(Image Source: AP)
[Saba Sports News] The budding friendship between Novak Djokovic and Virat Kohli has quickly become a popular topic. The Serbian tennis star and the Indian cricket icon have been exchanging praises recently. Djokovic, gearing up for the Australian Open 2024, revealed that he and Kohli have been texting for a while, a story Kohli elaborated on in a video shared by BCCI before India’s second T20I against Afghanistan in Indore.
Responding to Kohli’s video, Djokovic expressed his gratitude and invited Kohli to play a match together, leaving the type of match – cricket or tennis – open for interpretation. This interaction has piqued the interest of fans, especially since Djokovic was seen playing tennis with Australian cricketer Steve Smith and trying his hand at cricket recently.
The friendship between Djokovic and Kohli began when Djokovic mentioned they were “text buddies.” Djokovic spoke highly of Kohli and shared his aspiration to improve his cricket skills before visiting India.
“I obviously admire all of his career and achievements. I started to play cricket, but I’m not very good at it. But I have a task to perfect my cricket skills before I come to India, and don’t embarrass myself, when I’m there,” Djokovic shared.
Kohli, initially intending to message Djokovic first, was surprised to find a message from the tennis star already in his inbox.
“I got in touch with Novak very organically, I was just looking at his profile once on Instagram and I just happened to press the message button. I thought I’d just say hello, maybe,” Kohli revealed. “And then I saw a message from him on my DM already. I never opened it myself. So, the first time I saw my own messages myself, I saw, he messaged me himself. And I was like, let me just check if it’s a fake account or something like that. “But then I checked it again and it was legitimate. And then, yeah, we got talking. We keep exchanging messages every now and then. I congratulated him for all his amazing achievements.”
Their conversation started from there, with both athletes sharing mutual respect and admiration for each other’s achievements.
Djokovic even acknowledged Kohli’s 50th ODI century on Instagram, deepening their bond. Kohli expressed admiration for Djokovic’s passion for fitness and shared his eagerness to meet him, whether in India or elsewhere.
“When I got my 50th century recently, he put out a story and he sent me a very nice message as well. So, there’s been a mutual admiration, respect.”It’s really nice to connect with global athletes who are, you know, excelling at a high level. And I think, collectively, what I think about it is sending out a message of inspiration to the next generation in a way.”I have a lot of respect for him, his journey, his passion for fitness, something that I dearly follow myself and believe in a lot. So there’s a lot to connect on. “Hopefully If he comes to India sooner, I happen to be in a country where he is playing. I will definitely catch up with him and just chill out and maybe have a cup of coffee.”
Professionally, both athletes have had noteworthy performances recently. Djokovic overcame a challenge from Dino Prizmic to advance in the Australian Open, while Kohli made a significant 29 off 16 balls in his T20I comeback against Afghanistan, contributing to India’s easy victory.