There is mutual admiration and respect – Virat Kohli on his friendship with Novak Djokovic

As Virat Kohli rejoins the Indian squad for the second T20I, the Men in Blue will be eyeing an unassailable series lead at Indore. Not only do his cricketing credentials exceed his reputation but he has savoured friendships with sports icons around the world, the latest addition to that list being tennis star Novak Djokovic, who is fondly referred to as ‘Djoker’.

Speaking to BCCI on Saturday, Kohli recalled his first interaction with Djoker, whom he is also referred to as his ‘newest text buddy’. Throwing in a bit of context, Djokovic recently gave Virat Kohli a very special mention in the lead-up to the Australian Open.

Kohli, who also added that he has been in touch with the Serbian, divulged that he first reached out to Djoker through Instagram.

Kohli said, “When I saw Novak Djokovic's profile on Instagram and I pressed the message button organically - then I saw his message already on my DM (Direct Message) since then, we started talking to each other and sending wishes.”

He further added, “When I got my 50th ODI Century, Novak Djokovic put a story, sent me a nice message as well so there is mutual admiration and respect - really nice to connect with global athletes.”

Kohli’s comments come after the tennis star spoke about his admiration for the former, in a chat with Sony Sports in the lead-up to the Australian open. Djokovic had said, “It was really a privilege and honour to listen to him speak nicely about me and I obviously admire his career and achievement and everything he has done.”

The new formed friendship between two icons is obviously the talk of the town and as they go onto excel further in their own careers, Virat Kohli will be setting his sights on hitting the stride after a while in the shortest format of the game.