Dubai, (Asian independent) Indian captain Virat Kohli is a “competitive beast” when he is on the field but a completely different person off it, says Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa.
Zampa shared the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) dressing room with the franchise captain Kohli in the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL).
“He’s a totally different person off the field. You see his aggression and how competitive he is on the field. He’s actually one of the most chilled out guys off the field,” Zampa said on The Unplayable Podcast.
“Obviously, you always play against him, you get to know what he’s like on the field and then being able to spend time away from the cricket field with guys like that, you see how human they actually are.”
Zampa only played three matches in this IPL and picked two wickets. His 1/12 was instrumental in RCB nearly defending a target of 132 against SunRisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator.
“He’s the kind of guy (that) as soon as he walks across that line, he’s a competitive beast. I saw it first-hand playing with him, there’s two different versions of him and that’s the weight of expectation he has on himself to perform for India. But when he’s off the field he’s a lovely guy and very chilled out,” the Aussie said.
“He’s actually one of those guys…he’s a very easy laugh — you can say the worst joke in the world and he’ll laugh his head off. He’d had enough of me by the end of it trying to make him laugh until his cheeks were sore.”
