Jansen: From net bowler to enjoying battles in the middle against Kohli

MARCO Jansen fondly remembers the first time he encountered Indian legend Virat Kohli.

- ZAAHIER ADAMS

Still a gangling teenager back then, Jansen and his identical twin brother, Duan, were called up to be “net bowlers” to the touring India squad at a Wanderers training session. Despite not being called on during the first day, the Jansen brothers waited patiently before getting their chance the next day.

“There were two days at the Wanderers. The first day was both my brother and myself, we didn’t bowl a single ball or we bowled like the last 20 minutes,” Jansen said, after the Proteas’ 17-run defeat to India in the first ODI in Ranchi.

“And then in those 20 minutes, I think Ravi Shastri was the coach back then. He asked us to please come back the next day, which was quite nice. And then we bowled for like two, two and a half hours, which was nice.”