India skipper Virat Kohli is among the richest athletes in the world today. However, Kohli belongs to a middle-class family as his father was the sole bread-earner when he was starting cricket. No wonder, he had faced all sorts of struggles growing up.
While chasing his dream of becoming a top cricketer, Virat used to travel in DTC buses in Delhi to reach the various cricket grounds in the city and sometimes even took lifts from random strangers to commute.
In an Instagram Live session with India’s football captain Sunil Chhetri, Kohli on Sunday (May 17) shared his travel experiences in the DTC buses.
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"I started travelling in buses. I had the academy pass for the bus. I also had a cycle with a carrier at the back. Later I bought a duffle bag with two bats on the sides.
"But my dad used to drop me off in some of the games. When I had my matches at the Kotla, my father used to practice at High Court," Kohli said.
Chhetri then asked Kohli if he has ever travelled on the bus without a ticket.
"Did you have a DTC pass or risked travelling without a ticket?" the ace footballer enquired.
"No I've never done all such things. People didn't take me seriously after looking at my face. Had I told them I'm a staff member I would have got caught. Staff members had a personality to go along with it but we didn't have that.
"Maine bus mein staff bola, phir usne aisa sawaal poocha main nikal gaya (I once told the conductor I'm a staff member but conductor asked me such questions that I exited the bus). I've never been able to travel without a ticket by lying to the conductor that I'm staff. But I've seen other boys do it, they had a different level of confidence and aura," Kohli revealed.
Sunil Chhetri also recalled how he used to travel without a ticket and got caught once.
"I used to travel without a ticket in the DTC bus, the fine at the time was Rs 20. But I used to get Rs 20 as pocket money from home so I thought when I get caught I'll use the money to pay the fine.
"This happened for quite some time before I got caught. So I paid the fine. After that they increased the fine to Rs 50," Chhetri said.
(Inputs from India Today)
