"Virat Kohli had self-doubt, questioned if I am good enough"- Harbhajan Singh opens a pandora box

Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh shared his admiration for star batter Virat Kohli ahead of the two-match Test series against Bangladesh.

Harbhajan Singh recalled how Virat Kohli impressed him with his batting performance during his maiden international series against Sri Lanka in 2008.

Virat Kohli has emerged as the top batter of his generation. Kohli has surpassed Sachin Tendulkar in the number of ODI centuries and is nearing the legendary record of 100 international centuries.

He recently announced his T20I retirement after India's win in the T20 World Cup 2024.

Kohli will next be seen in action during the upcoming home series against Bangladesh.

The Rohit Sharma-led team will begin their packed Test schedule with this series. Virat, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja were rested for the Duleep Trophy 2024.

Virat Kohli Batted And Scored A Fifty - Harbhajan Singh

Speaking on Taruwar Kohli's podcast, Harbhajan Singh recalled that Virat Kohli was not satisfied with his performance despite scoring an impressive half-century in just his fourth ODI. Harbhajan said that he was impressed by Kohli's attitude from the start of his career.

"I remember this one incident. Viru [Virender Sehwag] had gotten injured I supposed. [Ajantha] Mendis was getting everyone out. He comes in; young guy, free energy. He batted and scored a fifty. He asked me 'Paaji, how did I play? I said, 'Very well'. He then said 'Paaji, I shouldn't have gotten out, should have smacked him more'. Loved the attitude,” Harbhajan said.

The Delhi-born cricketer made his debut for India in an ODI match against Sri Lanka in 2008. Kohli registered scores of 12, 37, and 25 in his first three innings. The star batter then smashed a half-century in his fourth innings, scoring 54 runs off 66 balls with the help of seven boundaries.

Virat Kohli Had Self-Doubt - Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh shared another story from Virat Kohli's Test debut series in 2011 against the West Indies. Kohli doubted if he was good enough to play Test cricket. Harbhajan revealed he told Kohli he would not justify his potential if he did not score 10,000 runs in Test cricket.

"If I tell you something about his Test cricket, at the very beginning. We were in the West Indies. On that tour, Fidel Edwards (former West Indies quick) had troubled him a lot, getting him out either LBW or against the short ball," Harbhajan added.

"He was getting out time and again, so obviously was very disappointed. He had self-doubt, and questioned 'If I am good enough?' I told him 'You will shame yourself if you don't score 10000 runs. You have the capability of scoring 10000 runs in Test cricket. And if you don't, it'll be because of your fault'. After that, what Kohli has done is a once-in-a-lifetime exception."

Virat Kohli made his Test debut in 2011 against the West Indies, where he scored just 76 runs from five innings in three Tests. However, the batter improved his performance with each series. He has scored 8,848 runs from 113 Test matches at an average of 49.16, including 29 centuries.

Also read: England stars dominate with 14 picks in BBL 2024 draft; Usama Mir sole Pakistani cricketer selected