‘Watch Out, Keep an Eye on Them..’: Tamim On Commentary Brings Up Mushfiqur-Kohli Sledging ‘History’

What would a Test match be without sledging, especially when someone like a Virat Kohli is present on the field? The former Indian captain knows a few tricks to distract the opponent. Something similar was expected by former Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal when veteran Mushfiqur Rahim was batting and Kohli was stationed at slip. Tamim, who was calling the game at that moment, suggested a possible exchange of words between the two cricketers. However, Shastri took a cheeky dig at his Bangladeshi colleague.

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Tamim was hoping for sparks to fly between Mushfiqur and Kohli when Shastri jumped in.

“Mushfiqur Rahim is batting, Virat Kohli is in the slips. Watch out now. Keep an eye on them. They have quite the history,” Tamim said.

Reacting to Iqbal’s comments, Shastri asked, “What history?”

The former Bangladesh opener replied, saying, “Oh, you know, Ravi. You know what history I am talking about.”

‘Whenever I play against Kohli, he always tries to sledge me’

Though the two players share a unique bond between them, Mushfiqur has publicly admitted that he refrains from sledging Kohli on the field.

Last year during the ODI World Cup, the veteran Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batter said he discourages his players from sledging Kohli, knowing that the former India skipper gets triggered by such conversations.

“Some batters in the world love sledging and get pumped up by that. So I never sledge him (Virat) because he gets pumped up by that. I always tell my bowlers to get rid of him as early as possible,” Rahim had said before the World Cup fixture against India last year.

Mushfiqur further revealed that Kohli doesn’t restrict himself from saying things when the Bangladesh keeper-batter walks out to bat against India.

“Whenever I play against him, he always tries to sledge me every time I go in to bat because he is a really competitive guy and he doesn’t want to lose any cricket match. I really love that rivalry with him and the challenge that comes with facing him and India,” Rahim explained.