Ace India batter Virat Kohli is all set to attend the Ram Mandir ‘Pran Pratistha’ ceremony in Ayodhya on 22 January along with his wife Anushka Sharma. Reports have said that he has received permission from the BCCI to do so.

Kohli was the third cricketer to receive this invite after MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar. Dhananjay Singh, a senior member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, was present at Dhoni’s residence in Ranchi to hand over the invitation to the legendary India skipper.

India will be prepping for the England Test series which begins on January 25 and will be having a training camp for the same. This meant that Kohli needed permission from the BCCI to have time off to visit Ayodhya for the ceremony.

MS Dhoni receives invitation to attend Ram temple 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony in Ayodhya

Cricbuzz report stated that the Indian team had been told to meet in Hyderabad, the venue of the first Test against England, on January 20. The team will undergo a four-day practice session before the Test, which commences at the Uppal Stadium on January 25.

After finishing his session on January 21, Kohli received permission from BCCI to attend the event.

Kohli is currently playing in the Afghanistan T20I series and players who are involved in the India-England Test series will get a two-day break.

(Cricbuzz inputs)