'If ever you want to reach out, please feel free' - Haseeb Hameed shares unheard conversation with Virat Kohli

England batter Haseeb Hameed recently revealed his relationship with Indian legend Virat Kohli and also spoke about a conversation with the latter during England's tour of India. Then, a 19-year-old made his Test debut for England during their 2016 tour of India, and quickly grabbed the limelight after his performances in Rajkot and Visakhapatnam. However, his campaign was cut short in Mohali due to a fractured finger.

Despite the injury, Hameed batted at No. 8 in the second innings, scoring a 59* with a broken finger. It was after this knock that Kohli walked into the England dressing room and had a conversation with the youngster.

"Virat's been super helpful. Every time I've had any sort of query about batting, he's been more than willing to give his time. And it's not just a short period of time. He's happy to go as long as we need. I've got a lot of respect for him, always had. In terms of what he's done for me as a person, as a player, through my difficult moments, it speaks a lot about him as a character, his humility and the way he goes about things. 

On that first tour (in 2016), when I had my injury, he was kind enough to spare me a few moments. He shared his number with me and said, ’If ever you want to reach out, please feel free to do so’. That just speaks to what an incredible person (he is). He's probably the biggest superstar in the game, maybe ever, if you look at his social media following. For him to be so willing to give his time and personal space -- he didn't need to do that. I was a young kid, 19 years old. But the fact that he was so willing and able to do it is testament to his character. Hashim Amla has been really helpful as well. These are guys I love talking batting to because they're both incredible players, but also understand the game. They make it very human, despite the fact that they're both incredible players. Sometimes it feels like it's hard to connect with someone that's reached those heights, but they bring it down to the very basic elements of the game," he told Hindustan Times.

Ashwin compares Kamboj to the likes of Zaheer, Bumrah

Read More

Ashwin compares Kamboj to the likes of Zaheer, Bumrah

He's much better than a few other players in responding: Haseeb

Since that meeting, Kohli has been a consistent source of encouragement for Hameed, especially during some of the tough phases of his career. After losing his Lancashire contract in 2019 or being dropped after the disastrous Ashes 2021-22 tour, the star Indian cricketer has provided his valuable support.

"I’ll say it like this. He's much better than a few other players in responding, especially for the calibre of person and player that he is. You'd think that he's super busy, right? I'm sure it takes a little bit of effort for him to reach back and reply to someone like me. But he's always been willing to do that; hopefully, that continues,” Hameed added.

Currently captaining Nottinghamshire, Hameed is looking at reviving his career with consistent domestic performances. He scored over 1,000 runs last season and already has 848 runs in 2024 and is still hopeful of a return to the England side.

“I wouldn't change it for anything. As a 17-18-year-old when I first signed professionally, whenever I got asked about my ambitions, I was very open to say it was to play for England. For some players at the age of 17-18, that's not very natural to say but for me that was very natural. Looking back in hindsight, there are certain things that you might think if only that would have been different. But I tend not to look at things like that. I accept things for what they are. I was 24 by the time I played my 10 Test matches and all against India and Australia, seven of them away from home. I don't think it gets too much tougher than that. I feel like I've had one really bad, tough tour in international cricket in Australia, but in the Ashes. So, it's magnified. But the six Test matches in the lead-up to that went okay, against India at home and away, in challenging conditions and circumstances. What this current leadership (Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum) has shown is to select players even though they might have had a bad tour. Sometimes, you see the results of that,” he concluded.