"I said brother, let me sleep" - Former India teammate recalls hilarious Virat Kohli story post latter's Test retirement amid IPL 2025

Virat Kohli's former teammate for India and Delhi, Ishant Sharma recalled an anecdote involving the legendary batter after his recent Test retirement. The former India skipper, 36, shockingly announced his Test retirement on Monday, May 12, leaving fans and the cricketing fraternity stunned.

Kohli retires as the most successful Indian Test captain, ushering the national team to 40 wins in 68 Tests. He also finished as the Men in Blue's fourth-highest run-getter in the format with 9230 runs.

Recalling an incident with Kohli, Ishant narrated a joke between the two when the fast bowler broke into Team India. He recollected how Kohli kept asking if he would play for India, and all he wanted to do was sleep.

Ishant, who is part of the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025 and has played under Kohli's Test captaincy, told Star Sports' Press Room on Saturday:

"When our India debut came, the name of the team came...he kicked me and said, your name has come. He said, will you really play for India? I said, brother, let me sleep. At the end of the day, you have spent a lot of time with him. You know him in and out. You know where he has come from, how he is and how he is not."

The veteran bowler, who has featured in 105 Tests, also revealed that they hardly talk about on-field action when they meet. He added:

"Imagine, your brother has reached such heights. Everyone is thinking that he is great. But you will see that at the end of the day, he is a human being. When we meet, we never talk about how we played so many Test matches. We never talk about it. We talk about funny jokes. This is happening, that is happening, look at this, look at that. Funny jokes."

Ishant has not played for India since 2021 but still shares a good bond with Kohli.

"He is a childhood friend to me" - Ishant Sharma on Virat Kohli

Ishant Sharma. (Image Credits: Getty)

Ishant also stated that while Kohli has risen to absolute stardom, their bonding will never change, adding:

"I think Virat Kohli (the star) is for outside people. I can't see him like that because we played in the U-17s. He is a childhood friend to me. When we were in the U-19s, we used to count how much money we had. We used to eat food. When we used to go to the U-19s, we used to save our TAs and take them with us. So, Virat Kohli is different for everyone. He is different for me."

The Titans will resume their IPL 2025 campaign against Delhi Capitals on Sunday, May 18.