English star Test cricketer Alex Lees opened up about the savage criticism made by India’s great cricketer Virat Kohli at the Edgbaston Test match against India back in 2022. India was ahead 2-1 in the series. The fifth Test match was won by England and the series was levelled at 2-2.
Notably, India’s stalwart Virat Kohli was struggling as his bat and hadn’t recorded his century milestone since November 2019. Moreover, the right-handed batsman drew criticism for attempting to sledge England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow throughout the latter’s batting innings in the game. In the first inning of the fifth Test match at Edgbaston, Jonny Bairstow struck for a century under pressure, while several fans and experts condemned Kohli for sparking him.
“He was just carrying on in a fashion he can do sometimes. He had been getting under people’s skin in the field when he was batting. It was as simple as that. He is an incredible player, but I thought he was just being a bit of an idiot,” Alex Lees said.
Once I had spoken to him, Virat Kohli saw a bit of red mist, especially when we came out after tea: Alex Lees
Meanwhile, the 30-year-old revealed that former India skipper Virat Kohli was consistently sledging them and was feeling like he wanted to win that Test match to win the series. The top-order batsman feels Kohli didn’t have a proper talk with him when they both came out after having tea. Moreover, the southpaw admitted that the RCB stalwart has the pressure of billions of people, but he can be competitive without losing his calm.
“Once I had spoken to him, he saw a bit of red mist, especially when we came out after tea. He is a competitor. He wants to win. I will never understand the weight of a billion people on my shoulders, but you can be competitive without losing your cool,” he added further.
