Virat Kohli has revealed how former India paceman Zaheer Khan helped him in his relationship with Anushka Sharma. The Indian captain also shed light on how the Bollywood actor, whom he has been dating since 2013, "motivated" him out of poor form after India's unsuccessful tour to England in 2014.
Kohli faced severe criticism after India lost the five-match series 3-1 in England as he managed only 134 runs from 10 innings at 13.50. He had no clue to deliveries that were leaving him in swinging conditions and the English bowlers consistently exploited his weakness.
Also read: We don't hide our relationship, says Kohli
On top of that the Delhi batsman along with his teammates had a woeful time at the slip cordon as they grassed more balls than they caught.
While a section of fans across the country started blaming Anushka for Kohli's failure, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) reportedly restricted the company of wives and said no to girlfriends on tours after the England drubbing.
Kohli went on to reveal why the 2014-15 tour of Australia proved "special" for Anushka and himself. Notably, the right-hander led the team from the front with four centuries during the four-match series, in which MS Dhoni retired as Test captain.
'Grateful to Zaheer'
The Delhi batsman said Zaheer helped Anushka and himself handle their relationship in public. He added that the left-arm fast bowler was "one of the first guys" he approached regarding the issue.
"I am actually very grateful that my first interaction about this was with Zak [Zaheer]. He told me the right thing and I have followed it ever since," Kohli told television presenter Gaurav Kapoor during his YouTube show "Breakfast with Champions".
"Luckily he was one of the first guys I spoke to about this . He said 'whatever you do, don't try to hide it. Because you'll stress yourself out and you're in a relationship, not doing anything wrong. Not committing a crime'.
"We [Anushka and I] don't go out there and be madly vocal about it [relationships] or have social media conversations, which I fail to understand. But, we don't hide it."
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