Days after Kagiso Rabada claimed that Virat Kohli is "immature," India captain on Tuesday made his response saying, he would like to have a man-to-man talk with the South African fast bowler.
Addressing the media on the eve of India's ICC Cricket World 2019 opener against South Africa, Kohli said that he is "not going to use the press conference to talk against Rabada. If there is anything for me and Rabada to discuss, we can do that man to man."
Rabada, one of the finest young fast bowlers in the world, told ESPNCrinfo in an interview that at times, India captain Kohli's on-field behavior "comes across as very immature".
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Reliving an incident from the Delhi Capitals, for which Rabada led the attack until returning home due to an injury, against Royal Challengers Bangalore, the 24-year-old said, "I was just thinking about the game plan, really, but Virat, he hit me for a boundary and then he had a word. And then when you give it back to him, he gets angry. I don't get the guy. Maybe he does it because it gets him going, but that comes across as very immature for me. He is a phenomenal player but he can't take the abuse."
The fast bowler's statement, however, didn't go down well with Indian fans, and many of them took to social media platforms to slam the youngster.
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The India captain then said that Rabada "is always a skilful bowler, he has the potential to run through the opposition, so we need to look to play him accordingly".
Kohli and Rabada will face off when India and South Africa meet in the eighth match of the ongoing World Cup at Rose Bowl, Southampton on Wednesday.
