Finn Allen Uses Bat With Virat Kohli's Name On It In The Hundred

Dynamic New Zealand batsman Finn Allen’s admiration for India captain Virat Kohli was caught recently after he posted a photo of himself holding his bat while in the hype for The Hundred, England’s new 100-ball format, where the Kiwi represents Birmingham Phoenix.

An ordinary pre-season photoshoot image posted by Finn Allen stirred up social media when fans took notice of something scribed on Allen’s bat: ‘VIRAT KHOLI’ (the spelling mistake in the surname can be ignored for Finn Allen’s respect for Virat Kohli).

Earlier, Finn Allen was drafted into the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad for IPL 2021 as a replacement for Josh Philippe, who pulled out of the tournament for personal reasons. While he didn’t get to play a single game in the first half of the IPL, the 22-year-old must have enjoyed his time alongside Virat Kohli and other superstars in the RCB squad.

RCB roped in Finn Allen on the back of his thunderous Super Smash season, where he topped the run chart with 512 runs at a strike rate of 193.93 helping Wellington to the title.

“Obviously going to the IPL would be pretty amazing – that’s almost my dream for a long time now, so yeah hopefully get lucky and get picked up,” Finn Allen had said earlier before getting a call from RCB.

He was soon given his maiden New Zealand call-up for the T20I series against Bangladesh. While he registered a duck on his debut, in his third innings, the right-hander smashed 71 runs off 29 deliveries, an innings laced with 10 fours and 3 sixes.

He scored 11 runs in his first Hundred match against London Spirit, but Birmingham managed a win at the end.

With few players expected to pull out of the remainder of the IPL 2021 in the UAE, Finn Allen may be seen making his IPL debut.

Speaking of Virat Kohli, the India captain has announced a challenge straight to the England team as both the powerhouses will clash in an exciting 5-match series from next month. Kohli posted a photo of him celebrating a century from his previous record-breaking tour to England in 2018.

Remember who you are and don’t let ANYONE convince you otherwise. ⏳ pic.twitter.com/wz32WIc2Fk

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) July 22, 2021

Also Read: Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav & Jayant Yadav Set To Join Indian Test Team In England As Replacements: Reports