IND vs NZ 2021: Virat Kohli shares picture with 'cool cat' during practice; Anushka Sharma says 'hello billi'

Team India captain Virat Kohli has shared cute pictures with a cat during the team’s practice session ahead of the two-match Test series against New Zealand. Having clinched the T20I series 3-0, India are now gearing up for the Test series, which begins with the first Test at Green Park in Kanpur on November 25.

Kohli, who was rested for the T20I series, will not be part of the Kanpur Test as well. He will return to lead the team for the second Test, which will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai from December 3.

On Tuesday, Kohli shared a few images with a cat resting on his lap during Team India’s practice session. The 33-year-old uploaded the pictures on his Instagram handle with the caption:

“A quick hello from a cool cat at practice.”

Anushka Sharma responded to the picture by commenting “Hello billi” (Hi cat).

Kohli responded to that comment with "launda from dilli and mumbai ki billi" (lad from Delhi and cat from Mumbai).

Kohli recently quit T20 captaincy following the T20 World Cup 2021. It was not a fond farewell for Kohli as T20 leader, as India failed to get past the Super 12.

Before that, he had also relinquished the leadership of his IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Under Kohli, RCB reached the playoffs in IPL 2021, but went down to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Eliminator.

---

“Kohli would often let Dhoni handle little details” - Bharat Arun on the early days of Virat Kohli’s captaincy

Former India bowling coach Bharat Arun has revealed that Virat Kohli was happy to let MS Dhoni handle the ‘little details’ during his early days as India captain.

Kohli and his predecessor Dhoni share great mutual respect for each other. Speaking about the bond between the two, Arun told The Indian Express in an interview:

“Ravi (Shastri) told the importance of having a senior member like Dhoni in the team. It was about giving a lot of respect. and he would definitely help him. Kohli understood that. of course. and it was a seamless transition."

"You could see the respect in the way Kohli would often let Dhoni handle little details and prowl on the boundary in ODIs. That kind of stuff can’t have happened without trust and respect. And Dhoni also saw he was given the space and responded so well.”

Dhoni was recently part of the Team India squad as a mentor during their T20 World Cup 2021 campaign.