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Dubai: Former India coach Ravi Shastri has recalled how Virat Kohli raised his game when Anushka Sharma, then his girlfriend, was in the stands during India’s 2014-15 tour of Australia.
Shastri and fellow cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar are the guests on the next episode of The Great Indian Kapil Show on Netflix. In a promo released by the makers, Shastri tells host Kapil Sharma about the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
‘The players need support’
Shastri was speaking about the long-running debate over whether players’ partners should be allowed on tour, an issue that has often been contentious in Indian cricket.
“Many players had their girlfriends,” he said, before using Kohli as an example.
“The players need support, so it should be allowed for them to bring their girlfriends. And she was allowed. The match began on the 26th, Kohli charges out like a warrior and scored 160. And when he hit a hundred, he kissed his bat…” Shastri said.
He then turned towards the audience and mimicked Kohli blowing a kiss to Anushka in the stands.
The 2014 Boxing Day Test
Kohli actually scored 169 in that match, the third Test of the series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was his highest Test score at the time and his third century of the series.
After reaching his hundred on the third day, Kohli blew a kiss to Anushka in the stands, a moment that quickly made headlines. Shastri, who was India’s team director on that tour, has told the same story before, during commentary in 2024.
Kohli and Anushka married in Italy in December 2017. Anushka has previously spoken out against being blamed whenever Kohli has a bad game, and against having her presence linked to how he performs.
Comedy, Trump and the IPL
The episode also features Kiku Sharda, Krushna Abhishek and Sunil Grover, with sketches inspired by current world affairs.
Dressed as US President Donald Trump, Krushna Abhishek tells the audience, “Mere liye bas chawal, gravy mangana, piece nahi” (Just order me rice and gravy, no pieces). He then adds, “I don’t like peace,” in a play on the words “piece” and “peace”.
Sunil Grover also appears as a character inspired by former India captain Kapil Dev.
Towards the end of the episode, Shastri jokes about how things might have been different if the Indian Premier League had existed when he was playing.
“Before IPL, foreign players would always be ignorant about coming to India. Now, when they see money, they come and happily say Namaste,” he said.
When to watch
The episode is the third of The Great Indian Kapil Show Season 5, following episodes featuring the casts of Drishyam: The Conclusion and Vvaan. The season premiered on September 26.
