England’s Danielle Wyatt is extremely proud of being one of only two woman cricketers to have scored two hundreds in T20 Internationals.
However, every time she steps onto the field or logs on to Twitter, she is reminded of a tweet four Aprils ago.
“I am reminded of it every day. It's a bit ridiculous, but very funny,” Wyatt told The Hindu after recording her highest score in ODIs during England’s win in the second ODI against India.
She was obviously referring to her “marry me” tweet to Kohli in 2014. While she was having a bit of fun, the manner in which “the fun tweet” went viral surprised her.
“Yesterday, at the game, the crowd was chanting “Virat, Virat”. It is quite funny. He is a legend and that's expected. They love him and Indians are very nice even when I get trolled, there's no abuse. It's funny,” she said.
The tweet played a role in Wyatt meeting her favourite cricketer, and discussing the secret of Kohli's run-making.
“I actually met Virat a couple of times after that and he was like: “you're the girl who sent that tweet... you can't do that because people take it seriously”. He was a really nice, humble man,” Wyatt said.
“It was good to chat with him. We spoke about batting, his diet as well. He eats a lot of tuna and spinach, so that's his secret. But he is a legend. He is definitely my favourite batsman in the world to watch. He is amazing.”
Despite making her international debut as a teenager in 2010, Wyatt took a long time in finding her feet at the highest level.
Before her second stint with the team that started around the World Twenty20 in India in 2016, her batting position was shuffled frequently.
But Wyatt credits England women's coach Mark Robinson and his assistant Alastair Maiden for her turnaround.
“I have batted from one to eight and never really felt settled. I was very much a team player so never really declined anything. I didn't mind it as long as I was playing.
“Now when I look back I wish I was a bit selfish. Mark and Alastair have really supported me and believed in my ability and my performance shows in the last two years,” she said.
