Hyderabad:Indian cricketer Virat Kohli can rightly be defined as the epitome of success. Having achieved glories in cricket, which many only dream of accomplishing, Kohli dreamt of it all very early in his childhood.
His IPL team, Royal Challengers of Bangalore (RCB), spoke to Virat’s first coach Rajkumar Sharma, childhood friend Shalaj and his mother -- Neha Sondhi -- who shared unheard anecdotes of him as a child that offers ringside view of his food habits, training with his first coach and his antics being the "naughty kid" that he was.
Among many stories told by his friend's mother, one was where Kohli saw a huge banner and told her that he would get married to a Bollywood actress. "One day near the Madan Lal Academy, there was a big poster of a movie or an ad. He saw that and said, 'One day I'll become a very big person and I'll marry a heroine.' Now you see, as per destiny that happened. Now, when I think of it, it feels great,” she said. Kohli is currently married to Indian Film Industry actress Anushka Sharma and they are blessed with a baby daughter Vamika.
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In another story, his friend talks about a precious possession that he still holds dear -- a scrapbook. A famous booklet in the 90s used by teenagers to compile and preserve their friends' favourite memories and meoments. In one of the questions where he has been asked about his ambition, Virat wrote "Become an Indian cricketer".
His childhood coach RajKumar Sharma said he saw an extremely "dedicated" kid in Kohli, who wanted to dominate the game from the time he padded up. "On May 30, 1998, he came to me with his brother and his father. Within a few days we could see that he was very different from others, very active, very hyper and very naughty guy. He was very determined and dedicated, he wanted to dominate from Day 1. He had tremendous self-belief that I can do anything. Shalaj and Virat were very thick friends from my academy," Rajkumar Sharma said.
He also spoke about the fearless and passionate attitude of Kohli where he narrated an incident from his junior days when Virat went against his mother and the coach’s advice to face players much older than him despite getting hit on the chest with the ball at the academy in West Delhi.
"On May 30, 1998, he came to me with his brother and father. Within a few days, we could see that he was different from others, a very active and very naughty guy. He was determined and dedicated and wanted to dominate from the first day. He had a tremendous self-belief that he can do anything," revealed Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma.
"Junior teammates could never get Virat out so he came to me and said he wanted to play in the senior group. Despite my hesitation, he kept insisting and then I decided to give him a chance. I was also irritated but he played well. Though he once got hit on the chest, he told his mother I'll play with seniors only come what may. He's special and has god-gifted talent. He has been playing bold from a very young age," added Sharma.
Reflecting on Virat's mentality from an early age, childhood friend Shalaj Sondhi stated, "We met in class fifth. Our team had a state match in Una and Virat was playing on 190. He had to complete his 200 runs in that innings and wickets were falling at the other end. So, when I came in to bat, Virat said you just have to stand and I will deliver. He went on to score 250 runs and then I realised he is the next version of the Indian cricket team."
The coach also recalled a special moment he shared with Virat Kohli. "When Virat Kohli became the captain in all formats, he called me & said 'Sir, I used to come on cycle keeping the kit bag on the front, then we wouldn't have thought I would reach here' - That was a very emotional moment," he revealed.
Virat Kohli is not only doing wonders for RCB, he is also inspiring the younger generation. " I also joined the same academy as Virat Kohli when I shifted to Delhi in 2011. At that time India had just won the World Cup and when I found out that this is the same place where Virat trained, I enrolled. As the years went by, I got to know more about his struggles and the kind of changes he made in himself which really inspired me," concluded RCB batter Anuj Rawat.
Kohli is currently in brilliant form with the bat, scoring 364 runs so far in nine games that he has played. The RCB team is currently languishing at fifth position having won 5 games in the 9 matches they have played.
