{
    "id": "193894",
    "author": "23",
    "cnmid": "1274622",
    "title": "Virat Is A Friend, Someone I Respect & Admire; He Is The Reason I Started Following Cricket: Djokovic",
    "lang": "en",
    "series": "1",
    "cup_year": "0000",
    "article_type": "General",
    "excerpt": "Laureus World Sports Awards: Serbian tennis great Novak Djokovic opened up on his friendship with Indian cricket stalwart Virat Kohli and revealed that it was Kohli because of whom he started watching cricket and expressed a desire to crossover between tennis and cricket involving the two legends when he visits India.\n",
    "subtype": null,
    "editor1": "Laureus World Sports Awards: Serbian tennis great Novak Djokovic opened up on his friendship with Indian cricket stalwart Virat Kohli and revealed that it was Kohli because of whom he started watching cricket and expressed a desire to crossover between tennis and cricket involving the two legends when he visits India.\n<p>Last year at Wimbledon 2025 on July 7, alongside his wife, Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma, Kohli witnessed Djokovic\u2019s thrilling round of 16 win against Australia\u2019s Alex de Minaur and later took to Instagram to share his excitement, posting a heartfelt story for the Serb. \"What a match. It was business as usual for the gladiator, @djokernole,\" Kohli had shared on X.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>\"Virat is a friend and someone I, of course, respect and admire. He is actually, to be honest, the reason why I started following cricket. When I come to India, hopefully he can join, and then we could do a little bit of tennis, a little bit of cricket, and have fun and just spread positive, good vibes with people and celebrate sport,\u201d Djokovic was quoted as saying by Times Now on the sidelines of the Laureus World Sports Awards.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Last year in May, when Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket, the 24-time Grand Slam winner spared a moment to pay his respects to the batting stalwart. He took to his Instagram and reshared the Indian batter\u2019s Instagram post regarding his retirement, adding a tag that reads, \"Incredible innings @virat.kohli.\" <\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Djokovic also shared a heartfelt message for his Indian fans, expressing deep gratitude for the \"love, respect, and appreciation\" he has received from tennis and fans across the globe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Last year in May, when Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket, the 24-time Grand Slam winner spared a moment to pay his respects to the batting stalwart. He took to his Instagram and reshared the Indian batter\u2019s Instagram post regarding his retirement, adding a tag that reads, \"Incredible innings @virat.kohli.\" <\/p>\r\n\r\n<h5><b>Also Read: <\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/live-cricket-score\">Live Cricket Score<\/a><\/h5><p>\"And my message would also be 'See you very soon in India because I need to go to India' I've been feeling a calling to come for the last couple of years. So I really hope that I'll be able to come to India and do an event, play a match, or whatever it is. I really wish for that because I feel very close to Indian people,\" Djokovic added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h5>Article Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/ians.in\/english-wire\/sports\/1\" rel=\"nofollow\">IANS<\/a><\/h5>",
    "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2026\/04\/virat-is-a-friend-someone-i-respect-he-is-the-reason-i-started-following-cricket-djokovic.jpg",
    "alt_img": "Virat is a friend, someone I respect & admire; he is the reason I started following cricket: Djokovi",
    "alt_title": "Virat is a friend, someone I respect & admire; he is the reason I started following cricket: Djokovi",
    "image1": null,
    "video": null,
    "seo_title": "Virat Is A Friend, Someone I Respect & Admire; He Is The Reason I Started Following Cricket: Djokovic On Cricketnmore",
    "seo_desc": "Virat Is A Friend, Someone I Respect & Admire; He Is The Reason I Started Following Cricket: Djokovic, Laureus World Sports Awards: Serbian tennis great Novak Djokovic opened up on his friendship with Indian cricket stalwart Virat Kohli.",
    "seo_keywords": "New Delhi, Novak Djokovic, Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma, Times Now, Laureus World Sports Awards, Grand Slam",
    "tag": "",
    "tagging": "Novak Djokovic,Virat Kohli,Anushka Sharma,Times Now,Laureus World Sports Awards,Grand Slam",
    "status": "1",
    "img_rpt": "0",
    "google": "1",
    "standout": "0",
    "edapps": "0",
    "pulse": "0",
    "no_index": "0",
    "feed": "0",
    "fixture": null,
    "slug": "virat-is-a-friend-someone-i-respect-he-is-the-reason-i-started-following-cricket-djokovic",
    "user_id": "0",
    "read_count": "0",
    "ians_date": null,
    "ians_time": null,
    "server_time": null,
    "trash": "0",
    "view_count": "127",
    "page_break": "0",
    "instant_articles": "1",
    "auto_link": "1",
    "created": "2026-04-21 11:48:06",
    "updated": "2026-04-21 11:48:06",
    "img_from": "Image Source: IANS",
    "img_source": null,
    "schedule_publish": null,
    "news_keywords": "New Delhi, Novak Djokovic, Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma, Times Now, Laureus World Sports Awards, Grand Slam",
    "livescore_text": null,
    "livescore_link": null,
    "btn_text": null,
    "resend_feed": "1",
    "google_feed": "1",
    "read_more": "1",
    "posted_by": "23",
    "jio_date": "2026-04-21 11:48:06",
    "scheduled": "0",
    "news_now": "1",
    "breaking_news": "1",
    "google_date": null,
    "featured": "0",
    "pred_match_id": null,
    "article_content_type": null,
    "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/virat-is-a-friend-someone-i-respect-he-is-the-reason-i-started-following-cricket-djokovic-193894"
}