IPL 2016: Shane Watson opens up on how his relationship with Virat Kohli has evolved over time

Current Royal Challengers Bangalore teammates, Virat Kohli, and Shane Watson have had a history of on-field verbal spats on numerous occasions in the past. However, playing alongside each other in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), both Kohli and Watson seem to enjoy each other’s company.

The Royal Challengers boast of one of the strongest batting line-ups in modern-day cricket which flaunts the names of Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Shane Watson is more than enough to instill fear in the minds of the opposition.

And quite rightly, steered by their strong batting line-up, the Bengaluru-based IPL franchise seems to be in fine form as they have literally crushed the Gujarat Lions and the Kolkata Knight Riders to win a couple of back-to-back matches in the coveted T20 tournament.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore had bought Shane Watson for nearly $2 million at the IPL auction this February. Besides scoring 152 runs in the competition, the Australian has also notched up 14 wickets to steer the Bengaluru-based IPL franchise over the victory line on a number of occasions.

With the Royal Challengers Bangalore currently lying at the 5th position of the IPL table, Shane Watson is apparently mesmerized by Virat Kohli’s abilities, not only as a batsman but also as a leader. Although their relationship has improved by manifolds since Shane Watson had joined the Royal Challengers, the Australian’s opinion about the current Indian Test captain hasn’t quite changed.

The 34-year-old believes that Virat Kohli’s “incredible passion for the game of cricket” and desire to win at all costs often rubs the opposition in a wrong way. In an interview given to the former England batsman, Mark Butcher on Sky Sports, Watson said, “Yeah of course. We (Watson and Kohli) had our moments at times.”

“But the thing that I’ve just seen at close quarters is he’s incredible passion for the game of cricket but also for winning. That’s the reason why he’s so consistently good is he’s just got this deep down burning ambition to be the best and for everyone else around him to be the best as well, which is an incredible thing to see,” the Australian added.

Shane Watson has also thrived a lot as a bowler under the captaincy of Virat Kohli. “He instills (a) lot of confidence in me. He lets me sort of choose the balls and allows me to set my fields accordingly as well- with his input a lot of the time as well. It’s been great to work under him and he’s using me very nicely,” Watson concluded.