Australia speedster Josh Hazlewood has heaped praise on Virat Kohli saying that he pushes the players’ test skills in the nets sessions ahead of the crucial encounter against Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2025 season.
Virat Kohli scored an unbeaten 59 runs in the 2025 season’s opening match against Kolkata Knight Riders and helped the side to secure a comfortable victory.
Speaking about training alongside Virat Kohli at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL, Josh Hazlewood who joined RCB for INR 12.5 crore in last year’s mega auction in Jeddah, mentioned that watching Kohli’s intense training sessions motivates players to push themselves harder.
Hazlewood said that having a player like Kohli is also beneficial for the team as he keeps the scoreboard busy with his ezquisite shots. The 36 year old is currently the leading run scorere in the IPL and is also the only batter with more that 8000 runs in the tournament.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝘁. 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗵 𝗛𝗮𝘇𝗹𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗱
Keep it simple – is the mantra that’s worked for Josh! Watch him talk about his bowling, the ones he looked up to growing up, the Aussie bowling attack, playing for RCb,… pic.twitter.com/pk5zVPt2sL
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) March 27, 2025
“You might show up to training feeling a bit flat, just going through the motions. But when you look down and see him 22 yards away, it really kicks you into gear. Training becomes a battle, especially in the middle. He definitely has that aura about him,” told Josh Hazlewood.
“I fully respect what he’s done in the game and what he’s still doing now. He’s one of those players who comes at you and plays his shots, which is always nice because it helps move the scoreboard along,” Hazlewood said.
Since first playing against Australia in 2009, Kohli has scored 5477 runs against them from 103 matches at an average of 48.90 with 17 hundreds to his name.
Josh Hazlewood who has dismissed Virat Kohli 11 times in international cricket, said that Kohli tests players’s skills and limits in nets’ sessions.
“He’s a huge wicket for us in any format. He’s scored a lot of hundreds against us in all formats, so in the nets, he really pushes you. By the time you finish, you feel ready for the game,” Hazlewood added.
RCB is gearing up for a high intense clash against Chennai Super Kings on March 28 at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.
