Ishant Sharma revealed an emotional tale about Virat Kohli, about how the cricketer dealt with his father’s demise despite being a teenager at the time. Both Ishant and Kohli have been fast friends since their U17 days playing for Delhi.
Prem Kohli, Kohli's father, died in 2006 after suffering a heart attack. Despite his tragedy, a young Virat went on to bat for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy.
"I have never seen him cry, but I know that he was saddest when his father expired. We were playing a Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka. He was batting overnight, and he used always pick me for the match. We used to go from Patel Nagar to Ferozshah Kotla. He was very serious (that day), and there was a video analyst with him," Ishant said on Ranveer Allahbadia's YouTube show.
"I asked him why he was so serious, but he did not reply. I gave him a tapli (a gentle knock) on the head. Then the other person told me that his father has expired. I did not know how to react. We were 17. He still batted and scored 80 runs as well. If something like that had happened to me, I don't think I could even have gone to the ground," Ishant added.
The pacer further said that he has seen Kohli’s evolution from a care-free teenager to becoming one of the greats of the modern era.
"I have seen all his phases. From party to tattoo, fitness freak to a top performer, he has made a massive transformation in his career. He was fond of parties, and during a tournament in Kolkata, he went partying the whole night but scored 250 the next day. He was unbeaten the previous day, and we were representing Delhi in U-19 cricket," Ishant added.
Kohli has been named in the Indian squad for 2 Tests and 3 ODIs on the West Indies tour in July-August.
(India Today inputs)
