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Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images)

Mohammed Shami made his international debut under MS Dhoni, but some of his best performances came when Virat Kohli was the captain of the Indian team. Shami and Kohli share great camaraderie both on and off the field. Both of them have been instrumental in helping India win many important matches.

Shami recently revealed that he had no idea how his nickname 'Lala' came about. The Bengal seamer, however, feels that Kohli could have been the one who coined the name. Shami also said that he struggles to understand why he was given the name.

"I also do not know when it became permanent. Virat may have done it. He only does such things. I was just thinking, once, what kind of a name is Lala, even Shahid Afridi had that name. But I did not understand why I had this name. I am not fat. There are people (lala) who do jewelry work, but I don't do that as well. But when you come to the team, you get some names. If you try to argue about it, they irritate you more in the team. So I let it be," he said in an interview with News 24.

Shami was asked whether Kohli is the tougher batter to bowl to in the Indian Premier League or Rohit Sharma. The 34-year-old lauded the batting abilities of both the stalwarts of Indian cricket.

"There has been no batter till now in front of me who would come in my dreams, or I have to think a lot about or take pressure before the match. It depends on who is set. Both (Kohli and Rohit) are great players, and both are big individuals in Indian history. They have made a name for themselves," he said.

Shami said that bowling to Cheteshwar Pujara would have been very difficult. The Amroha-born expressed that he was lucky to be playing in the same team as the recently-retired Pujara in Test cricket.

Shami wasn't picked in India's squad for the tour of England as the selectors were reportedly concerned about his fitness. The veteran also failed to make it to India's squad for the impending Asia Cup. Shami will look to do well for East Zone in the upcoming Duleep Trophy and remind the selectors about his class.