Cricketers are perhaps one of the most popular public figures in our country alongside Bollywood stars. Most of them have a huge fan following in real life and on social media. So it is not a surprise if a fan goes to insane levels to be as similar to their idols.
One such fan is Ram Bahadur, a 27-year-old from Ballia in Uttar Pradesh, who works as a computer operator in Lucknow and who looks awfully similar to Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan. In fact, he is a perfect doppelganger of the left-handed batsman from Delhi.
“After giving me a haircut, the barber said ‘bhaia, aap to bilkul Shikhar Dhawan ki tarah lagte ho (Brother, you resemble Shikhar Dhawan). He convinced me and twirled my moustache and asked me to look in the mirror. He showed me Shikhar sir’s picture as well,” Ram Bahadur told Times of India.
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“I follow him very closely. I follow his style of clothing, hair, beard, and moustache. And I apply the same to myself. As I said, he is a God for me. Whenever I meet him, I call him God. He asked me to call him bhaia (brother) but I refused. He is my God,” he said.
Ram met Dhawan for the first time in 2015 during an IPL match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals). “In Raipur on May 9, I went to watch the Sunrisers vs Delhi match. I was waiting for the team bus outside the stadium. When the team bus came I was very happy to see Shikhar sir. I folded my hands. He looked at me and came out and hugged me,” recalls Ram Bahadur.
Dhawan also arranged tickets for his no.1 fan when India met New Zealand in 2017 in Kanpur and the trend has continued since. “Whenever there is an India match, I don’t have to struggle for a ticket. He has always arranged one for me. When he met me, I started crying in front of him. I couldn’t hold back my tears after seeing him up close and personal. Then he hugged me tightly in front of everyone. He also introduced me to his family,” he said.
When Ram Bahadur and his wife were blessed with a baby boy in 2018, they named him Zorawar, after Shikhar's son. “It was pre-decided. Had it been a girl, I would have named her Aliyah. I named my son Zoravar. I told the same to Shikhar sir. He was so happy and blessed the little one,” he said.
“On the birthdays of Shikhar sir (December 5) and Zoravar (December 26), I order cakes and buy blankets and distribute them all among the poor,” Ram Bahadur signed off.
(Times of India inputs)
