Ex-teammate of Virat Kohli dubs his “aura” like “Ronaldo, Messi” during India’s photoshoot in BGT

There are players. There are special players. Then there are ‘extra’ special players + personalities that transcend sports. India have been fortunate enough to serve the likes of Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar. But our modern-day “king,” Virat Kohli, has well and truly surpasses the two veterans, at least in terms of popularity. The “feisty” character has been loved, especially by the Australians, who have not left a single stone unturned in welcoming Kohli for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT).

Australian PM in awe of Virat Kohli?

Team India had a frustrating day on November 30 when the Day 1 of their practice game was called off after persistent rain. But then, the management decided to have a photo session for the BGT, with skipper Rohit Sharma back in the mix now after his paternity leave. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joined the session and interacted with all the Indian players. To be honest, a bit more with Virat Kohli!

Virat Kohli’s former teammate Shreevats Goswami was quick to point out Australian PM’s hearty interaction with Kohli and drew paralleled Kohli’s “aura” with that of the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Lebron James. Goswami was part of the Under-19 World Cup winning team in 2008 under Kohli. The duo even shared the dressing room at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) from 2008 to 2010. While speaking to Star Sports, Goswami said, “Virat Kohli has the sense of humour, if you look at this picture – the eyes of Prime Minister are not moving away from Kohli – there are other players as well but he was just standing & talking to Kohli, that is his aura – like Ronaldo, Messi, Lebron James – now we see Kohli in that level.“