India all-rounder Jemimah Rodrigues has shared a light-hearted story involving Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma during a tour of New Zealand, revealing how a long chat with the couple ended with café staff “throwing them out”. Speaking on “The Bombay Journey” YouTube show, Rodrigues said the meeting began when she and teammate Smriti Mandhana approached Kohli for advice on batting.“Yes, I did speak to him,” she said when asked if she had ever discussed the comparisons often made between her style and Kohli’s. “Once we were in New Zealand. Smriti and I were there, and the men’s and women’s teams were staying in the same hotel. So Smriti and I asked Virat if he could talk to us about batting. He said, ‘Yeah, please come,’ and then he told us to come down to the café.” Rodrigues shared that Anushka Sharma also joined them. “For the first half an hour, we spoke only about cricket,” she said. During that conversation, Kohli offered a rather inspirational and encouraging message. “You both have the power to change women’s cricket. And I can see that happening. Just take up that responsibility because the change you can bring is going to be big and massive,” shared Jemimah. After discussing cricket, the group moved on to more casual topics and on life in general. “We talked a lot about batting and related things. After that, we just spoke about life, like how long-lost friends meet and chat,” Rodrigues said. The conversation carried on for hours, far beyond what the café could allow. “We ended up talking for four hours – half an hour on batting and four hours on random stuff. The only reason we stopped was because the café staff kicked us out. They said, ‘That’s it, it’s done now. It’s 11:30, you need to leave,’” Rodrigues recounted with a laugh.
Poll
Do you think the café staff were justified in ending the conversation?
With the YouTube video going viral, fans have had a closer look at the relationship Kohli shares with teammates and co-stars, be it in his own dressing room or in the women’s team.
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