'I've had two kids since you last scored a century': Alex Lees reveals sledge to Virat Kohli

England Test cricketer Alex Lees has revealed the sledge he directed at Virat Kohli during the Edgbaston Test against India in 2022. Lees, a left-handed batter who opened the innings for England, mentioned to Virat Kohli that he had two kids since the time the latter managed to score a century at the international level.

Kohli was in the midst of a prolonged barren patch with the bat and had not scored a century since November 2019. He also faced criticism for attempting to sledge England’s Jonny Bairstow while he was at the crease. After this altercation, Bairstow took off and raced to a century in the first innings of that match – as England broke took command of the Test.

In an excerpt from his new book, Lees said that Kohli had been engaging in sledging for quite some time, and he did not want to cop it any further. He goes on to say that Kohli had been getting under people’s skin in the field when he was batting, and that he was not willing to “tolerate someone attempting to intimidate me”.

“He is an incredible player, but I thought he was just behaving in a rather foolish manner,” Lees said in his book. He then said that he turned to Kohli and said: “I’ve had two kids since you last scored a century.”

Kohli had a forgettable game at Edgbaston as he could only score 11 and 20. India eventually lost the Test as England achieved a record run-chase of 378.

Lees, in this book, said that he understood the pressure Kohli was under, but he could have been competitive without being excessively aggressive. Lees said: “He is a competitor. He desires victory. I will never comprehend the burden of a billion people on my shoulders, but you can be competitive without losing your composure.”

England won this match and managed to draw the series 2-2. Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja were the stars with the bat while Jasprit Bumrah led India in the absence of Rohit Sharma.