Rex Clementine, in The Island, 24 November 2017, where the title is “Kohli pays tribute to Dickwella”
Indian captain Virat Kohli told journalists that young Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella reminded him of himself in early days. Like Kohli used to get under the skin of the opposition as a young player, the 24-year-old Sri Lankan’s tactics of time wasting angered the Indian players, but the captain said that all was fine.
“I like to see that character. I liked that competitiveness on the field. He is someone who takes a lot of pride in his cricket. I am impressed with what I have seen so far of him from the last series as well. He has got great ability to do something very special for Sri Lankan cricket,” Kohli told journalists.
With Sri Lanka desperately trying to save the first Test in Calcutta, Dickwella adopted time wasting tactics holding up play. “In the heat of things, I will do anything for my team to win. Afterwards, everything was normal. We had a chat on the flight as well. Those things end on the field. When you are competitive as an opponent we always respect that about any opponent. He is a very feisty character and that works for his game. Credit for him for maintaining that and I am sure he will do many good things for Sri Lankan cricket,” Kohli went onto say.
Both Team Players talk with umpire during day five of the 1st test match between India and Sri Lanka held at Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata on the 20th November 2017
Photo by Deepak Malik / BCCI / Sportzpics