In The Grade Cricketer Podcast, Kyle Jamieson and Dan Christian shared a funny anecdote from the Royal Challengers Bangalore nets involving Virat Kohli.

Jamieson, RCB’s newest and biggest recruit in the 2021 IPL season, has had a sensational start to his Test career, picking up 36 wickets in six Tests at a stunning average of 13.27.

The tall New Zealand seamer has played all his Tests at home, and according to him, the greener decks there suited his bowling and helped him get those unreal numbers.

“I’ve been fortunate to play on some green seamers,” Jamieson said. “I mean those numbers have been sort of ballooned. I play on green decks all the time and now get to bowl here and watch them pound me, so that’s always demoralising.”

Jamieson’s next assignment is the World Test Championship final against India in England immediately after the IPL. He hasn’t, however, bowled with the Dukes ball a lot and he cheekily explained in the podcast that he’s carrying around a couple of them to train in the RCB nets for the WTC final.

“I have actually got a couple of Dukes balls in my bag. I’ll keep them up my sleeve if the guys start to thump me around.”

Christian then chipped in with a funny story from one of RCB’s net sessions where he, Jamieson and India and RCB captain Virat Kohli were talking.

“It was pretty cagey from Virat actually in the first week we were here,” Christian said. “The three of us were sort of sitting down in the nets and these two [Jamieson and Kohli] were talking of Test cricket. Kohli asks Jamie if he has bowled much with the Dukes ball and Jamieson says, ‘I have a couple of ’em here and I’ll have a bowl here leading up to it’. And Virat says, ‘Oh, if you want to bowl at me in the nets, I’m more than happy to face.’ Jamie is like, ‘no chance I’m gonna bowl at you in the nets!'”

Asked how he got out of that funny request from Kohli, Jamieson says “I think he was dead serious, but it was too early in the tournament for me to jump the shot at. I just sort of laughed it off and said, ‘mate there’s absolutely no chance that’ll be happening.'”

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