He won’t be the same player if he…': Former India

Tea has officially been spilled, and this time it’s none other than Virat Kohli’s fiery on-field firestorm taking center stage. In a candid sit-down with sports commentator Padamjit Sehrawat on YouTube, 2011 World Cup-winning pacer Sreesanth served the truth hot — Kohli’s aggressive streak isn’t a flaw, it’s the secret sauce. For Sreesanth, what the world calls aggression is pure, undiluted passion. Turn it down? Big mistake. “If he reduces his aggression, he won’t be the same player,” he declared, framing it not as temper but as obsession — the kind that fuels icons.

And Sreesanth should know a thing or two about passion, given his own rollercoaster of a career. The two shared the same dressing room during India’s glorious 2011 World Cup run, but their paths took dramatically different turns. Kohli went on to conquer Test cricket, while Sreesanth bowed out from the longest format that same year after a tour of England. Yet the pacer holds no grudges — not even about the infamous 2008 slapgate with Harbhajan Singh.

Yes, that slap. Sreesanth opened up about how the incident still echoes in his family, especially his daughter, who once refused to even greet “Bhajji pa.” Over time, he’s softened his take, calling it a “spur of the moment” clash and insisting it was a lesson for both men. He even likened Harbhajan to an elder brother, firmly putting the bad blood in the past.

Still, the interview was more than just old wounds — it was a reminder of cricket’s complex human side. From the adrenaline-fueled aggression that drives champions to the personal relationships that survive scandals, Sreesanth painted a picture of a game that’s as much about heart as it is about stats. And if you ask him, Kohli’s heart beats loudest when it’s fired up.
**This news was published on Times of India on 15h August, 2025.

 

Source Click