Jaipur (Rajasthan): On the occasion of World Heritage Day on April 18, a wax statue of star batter and former India captain Virat Kohli will be installed in Nahargarh Jaipur Wax Museum.
The first look of the wax statue was released on Friday. Anup Srivastava, Founder-Director of Jaipur Wax Museum, said that for the last year, there was a demand to make a statue of Virat Kohli from tourists, especially kids and youth who are crazy about the Delhi opener.
"Now that Virat has also become a sports icon for children and youth, what could be a better occasion than now when he has reached the highest level in world cricket, to install his wax statue," said Srivastava.
"So, we also decided after batting great Sachin Tendulkar and former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, a wax figure would be created for Virat," Srivastava said.
It is understood that the duo of Ganesh and Lakshmi have prepared the wax statue after about two months of hard work. The weight of Virat's wax statue is 35 kg while the height is 5 feet 9 inches. The costumes have been made by Bollywood designer Bodh Singh.
Srivastava added that a total of 44 wax statues have been installed in the museum so far. The Museum is created in an almost 300-year-old fort.
35-year-old Virat Kohli plays for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). He has 13,848 ODI runs and 8,848 Test runs with the highest score of an unbeaten 254. He has played a staggering 113 Tests, 292 ODIs and 117 T20Is. He is also known as the Chase Master as he has helped India win several matches while chasing the target.
Delhi-born Virat is the only player in the history of the IPL to have represented a single franchise - that is the RCB. The stylish right-handed batter, known for his cover drives, is the leading run-scorer in this edition of the cash-rich league, with 319 runs to his credit. Virat, who has played a whooping 243 IPL matches, will be aiming to win the coveted IPL title this season.
Virat, who handed over RCB's captaincy to South Africa's Faf Du Plessis, was also the leading run-scorer in the 2016 edition when he amassed 973 runs with as many as four centuries and seven half-centuries, with 113 as his highest score. Virat was also part of the 2011 World Cup-winning team which was led by charismatic Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Virat led the Indian team for a considerable period and then handed over the reins of the side to current skipper Rohit Sharma.
Virat was picked into the Indian team for the first time by former India cricketer and former chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar, who was impressed with his performance for the A side in a tournament in Australia. Virat had also led the Indian U-19 team to victory. Virat was coached by Rajkumar Sharma during his fledging days. Virat plays for Delhi in the domestic circuit and his dedication to the game is unmatched. He is married to Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma. The couple has two children.
