‘Power of the king’ – Fans react as England legend advises his teammates to not provoke Virat Kohli in upcoming Test series

Former English cricketer Graeme Swann recalled England’s historic Test victory over Team India back in 2012 and also talked about Virat Kohli’s aggression in the game. Notably, Rohit Sharma and Co. are all set to face England in the five-match Test series slated to commence on January 25 in Hyderabad, which is part of the new WTC Cycle 2025. Team India is extremely great on their home soil, and they will be looking to outclass the Ben Stokes-led English set-up in the upcoming series.

However, Graeme Swann revealed that he had advised his fellow teammates not to have an argument with India’s batting master Virat Kohli on the upcoming tour. In addition, the great seamer feels the former India skipper loves having on-field battles, which makes him win the game irrespective of how tough the opponent is.

“We had been told beforehand to not say anything to this bloke (Virat Kohli) because he absolutely revels in a battle in the field and he loves chasing down totals. We knew what he could do in the white-ball format but back then he hadn’t really done anything in Test cricket,” Graeme Swann said in a Sky Sports Cricket podcast.

Graeme Swann also recalled bowling to Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara in 2012. Notably, the visiting sides won the four matches of the Test series by 2-1. The 44-year-old cricketer revealed that one needs to be perfect to dismiss Virat Kohli from the game. Moreover, the former right-arm off-spinner also said that he did not like bowling to Cheteshwar Pujara ever in Test cricket.

I got Virat Kohli out in the first Test: Graeme Swann

“I got him (Kohli) out in the first Test but often you had to bowl the perfect ball to dismiss him. The one batter I didn’t like bowling to was (Cheteshwar) Pujara because was very nimble on his feet. It’s strange when I look back at the team they had — VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli — and the one that I didn’t like bowling to was Pujara,” he added further.

Check here the fans’ reaction to his statement: