Image Source: Reuters
[Saba Sports News] Former South African cricketer Dean Elgar, who recently retired from Test cricket, shared an incident involving Indian star Virat Kohli from his first Test tour in India in 2015. This tour coincided with Kohli becoming the full-time captain of the Indian Test team. Elgar recounted struggling against Indian spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja when Kohli spat at him. Reacting quickly, Elgar threatened to retaliate physically against Kohli.
Elgar spoke about this on the Banter with The Boys podcast, mentioning his response to Kohli’s action and how AB de Villiers, who played with Kohli at RCB, informed Kohli about South African slang. Elgar warned Kohli about the consequences, leading to a heated exchange.
Later, Elgar revealed that de Villiers confronted Kohli about the spitting incident. Kohli eventually called Elgar to apologize three years later, during India’s 2018 tour of South Africa. The two resolved their differences over drinks.
Dean Elgar ended his cricketing career on a high note, scoring a significant 185 in his last Test series against India, contributing to South Africa’s victory. He also received a heartfelt gesture from Kohli after his final dismissal.
Elgar’s record against India includes scoring 1012 runs in 28 innings at an average of 40.48, with two centuries and four half-centuries. Under his captaincy in 2021-22, South Africa defeated India in a series win with a relatively inexperienced team.