Punjab Kings spinner Harpreet Brar has played down the talk surrounding his on-field exchanges with Virat Kohli, insisting there is no rivalry between the two and that a bowler’s focus should remain firmly on the job at hand, regardless of who is batting at the other end.
He will never give an excuse saying, ‘He is my friend, so I won’t hit him for a four or six. For Brar, the respect for Kohli remains unchanged even when the two find themselves on opposite sides in an IPL game. “But we do our job on the field. And we have learnt it from him only. It’s not like that. It’s not possible. He wants to do well for his team; it’s all jokes and fun. We have always learnt from him, and he is a great example for the future youngsters as to how cricket should be played,” he added.
Brar, who has previously dismissed Kohli in the Indian Premier League (IPL), said the intensity seen between the two players is part of the competitive nature of franchise cricket and not a personal contest.
We both want to do good for the team,” Brar told IANS in an exclusive conversation on Thursday. “It’s not like that. It’s good for the team. There’s nothing like a ‘rivalry’. It’s all a social media gimmick which starts there and dies there. I play for PBKS, he plays for RCB. I have only played franchise cricket with him. His aggression on the ground is still the same. “But it’s not like that. He is a legend of this game. He is one of the legends. Respect is the same for him on and off the field. At the same time, Brar believes competitive cricket leaves little room for sentiment once the game begins. “You should always have that current in you as a bowler; it doesn’t matter if it’s Virat Kohli batting in front of you or a youngster. As a bowler, my duty is to take his wicket or bowl a good over for my team. That should be the motto.”
Respect does not disappear simply because the two are competing, according to Brar. “He has played so many matches, and he plays the same way as he did when he was 18.
We have also learnt these things from him,” he said. The objective, he said, is to perform for one’s own side, irrespective of personal relationships. But Brar said the identity of the batter does not change his responsibility as a bowler.
