Former Indian captain Virat Kohli was in a good mood at India’s training session in Vadodara on Friday, January 9, when he was observed amusingly mimicking left-arm bowler Arshdeep Singh’s running style. The lighthearted incident occurred ahead of India’s three-match ODI series against New Zealand, which begins on January 11.
In a practice session, Kohli looked at ease and had a smile on his face as he laughed with teammates while imitating Arshdeep’s run-up. The scene quickly became attention-getting, indicative of the buoyant mood in the Indian camp. Kohli and Arshdeep head into the series in good nick as they had featured in VHT 2025-26 and did decently.
Virat Kohli is mimicking Arshdeep Singh’s running style 😂❤️ pic.twitter.com/RbobLlmn5S
— Virat Kohli Fan Club (@Trend_VKohli) January 9, 2026Kohli featured in two matches of the competition, scoring 208 runs at an average of 104 and a strike rate of 128.39. His list of scores features a fifty and another sensational century that came in the form of a brilliant 131 from a 101-ball innings against Andhra Pradesh.
Arshdeep also had a good VHT campaign, featuring in two matches for Punjab. The left-arm bowler grabbed seven wickets at an impressive average of 8.57 after maintaining his economy below four. His best was against Sikkim where he scalped a brilliant 5/34.
In one-day internationals, Kohli has forged a reputation as one of the great batters. He is second on the list with 14,557 runs scored in 308 matches at a staggering average of 58.46, which includes as many as 76 half-centuries apart from an astounding 53 centuries to his name. Kohli has scored 1,657 runs against New Zealand in 33 One-Day Internationals and is well on course to becoming India’s highest run-scorer against the Black Caps.
He also has six hundreds against them, more hundreds than any other batsman in ODIs against New Zealand. His best against the Kiwis came in 2016 at IS Bindra Stadium when he hammered an unbeaten 154.
In contrast, Arshdeep is someone new to the 50-over format. He has appeared in 14 ODIs, taking 22 wickets in his 13 innings at an average of 24.90, strike rate of 28.2, and economy rate of 5.29. His best ODI stats are 5/37. He has not taken a wicket in three One-Day Internationals played against New Zealand.
