Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli share a history that extends beyond their cricket careers, with both players coming from Delhi-Punjabi backgrounds and rising through the ranks of Indian cricket together.Their partnership was particularly notable in One Day Internationals, where they formed part of India’s most formidable top-three batting lineup.Despite their apparent friendship, Dhawan, 39, recently revealed instances of conflict between them during their playing days.“Virat and I fought once. We shoulder-tackled each other once while playing football during a warm-up session. For a second, we got angry,” Dhawan said on the Raj Shamani’s podcast. “Slowly, we stopped playing football in warm-ups because people would fight. It happens, there are so many athletes, aggressive, each one is big in his own right…”Dhawan also shared another incident involving a run-out with Kohli, which coincided with his IPL auction disappointment.“I was in South Africa, Virat ran me out. At that time, I got very angry… My (IPL) auction, too, hadn’t gone well. I wasn’t able to accept that as well. So, that was there, and then this (run out) happened,” he added. “I abused a lot… he (Kohli) was in the middle, I was venting out in the dressing room — not at him, but like how batsmen usually would. But we have our understanding because we know it isn’t intentional. This happens in cricket.”Dhawan has now retired from Indian cricket and ventured into entrepreneurship, while 36-year-old Kohli continues to play ODIs and IPL.Dhawan also reflected on his first encounter with Kohli, describing him as a young, focused player whose life took a significant turn after his father’s passing.“Virat, around 16-17 years old, was a bit soft-spoken… Since I was the senior, he spent time with me. At that time, he was focused on food, but once on the field, he only wanted to score runs. He had a clear idea of his game and was always hungry for success,” he added.“Unfortunately, when his father passed away, his zeal was already there, but his seriousness increased even more. I clearly remember the match when he came to play on the very day his father died and scored 95 runs. After that, he never looked back.”
