How Virat Kohli and Novak Djokovic secretly kept in touch - superstars reveal inside story

Indian cricketer Virat Kohli and Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic are among the world’s biggest sporting icons. Though the two legends have never met in person, their media interactions in the last few days revealed that they share a special bond.

The story came to the fore during Novak Djokovic’s interview with former Indian tennis player Somdev Devvarman on Sony Sports Network a day before the Australian Open 2024 began.

Djokovic, who has a record 24 Grand Slams to his name, is the defending champion at the Australian Open.

"Virat Kohli and I have been texting a little bit for a few years. We never got the chance to meet in person but it was an honour and privilege to listen to him speak nicely about me,” Djokovic said during the interaction. 

The Serbian tennis maestro, who played cricket with Australian batter Steve Smith for a charity event in Melbourne recently, also expressed his admiration for Kohli and the sport of cricket.

“I admire his career and his achievements. I started to play cricket. I'm not very good at it. I have a task to perfect my cricket skills before I get to India so that I don't embarrass myself when I am there.”

Virat Kohli, a member of India’s 2011 ODI World Cup winning team, has been among the best batsmen in the world for more than a decade now.

Kohli has 80 international centuries to his name across formats, 50 of which came in the ODIs. No other batsman has scored more tons in men’s 50-over international cricket.

"I got in touch with Novak very organically. When I saw his profile on Instagram, I pressed the message button, I thought I would just message him. Then I saw his message already on my DM (direct messages)," Kohli told the BCCI.

"I had never opened it. It was the first time I had opened my own messages. And he's messaged me himself. So first I thought let me just check, maybe it's a fake account. Then I checked again, it was legitimate. Then we got talking,” Kohli revealed.

The Kohli-Djokovic camaraderie hit a new high after the Serb posted an Instagram story applauding the Indian batter’s 50th ODI century, which came against New Zealand in the 2023 World Cup semi-finals.

It was a huge milestone as it took Kohli past his idol Sachin Tendulkar, who previously held the record for most ODI centuries in cricket.

"When I got my 50th ODI century recently, Novak Djokovic put out a story and sent me a nice message as well so there is mutual admiration and respect. (It’s) really nice to connect with global athletes who are excelling at a high level. I have a lot of respect for him and his journey… his passion for fitness is something I dearly follow myself. So there was a lot to connect on."

"Hopefully If he comes to India soon. If I happen to be in a country where he is playing, I will definitely catch up with him and just chill out and maybe have a cup of coffee," Kohli stated.

Kohli is currently part of the Indian cricket team playing Afghanistan in the three-match T20 series.