NEW DELHI:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
(RCB) fast-bowler
Yash Dayal
took to social media to express his admiration and respect for
Virat Kohli
, the former Indian captain.
Dayal's heartfelt message came in the wake of controversial statements made by former Indian leg-spinner
Amit Mishra
, who alleged that Kohli's aggressive nature has led to him having fewer friends and that it was Kohli who had instigated a rift with Afghanistan cricketer
Naveen-ul-Haq
during an IPL match between RCB and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
In his Instagram post, Dayal shared a picture with Kohli, captioning it, "It's an honour to stand beside you, bhaiya @virat.kohli."
Furthermore, Dayal shared the post on his Instagram story, using audio from Kohli's final game as RCB captain. In the background, Kohli can be heard saying, "I have given my best. I don't know how the response has been, but I have given 120 percent to this franchise every time, which is something I will now do as a player."
(Credit: Yash Dayal's Instagram)
In an appearance on YouTuber Shubhankar Mishra’s show "Unplugged," Amit Mishra commented, “He (Kohli) started abusing our players (in the LSG vs RCB rematch in Lucknow). He didn’t have any grudges with Kyle Mayers, but he abused him as well. Naveen-ul-Haq was bowling, and he abused him too. A lot could have been avoided, but Kohli chose not to."
Mishra further added, “For social media, it all seemed to be over between them. But do you think Naveen will ever respect Kohli again? What about the youngsters who witnessed a big star abusing others?”
Meanwhile, Kohli has been enjoying a well-deserved break after India's title-winning campaign in the 2024
T20 World Cup
. Recently, he was attending a kirtan (musical chanting of the name of God) led by Krishna Das at Union Chapel in London, accompanied by his wife,
Anushka Sharma
.