“I don’t think I could even have gone to the ground” - Ishant Sharma shares emotional tale of how Virat Kohli dealt with his father’s death

Experienced Indian pacer Ishant Sharma has opened up on how Virat Kohli played a Ranji Trophy match despite the death of his father. Saying that Kohli was the ‘saddest’ when his father expired, he recalled how the youngster went out to bat and even scored a half-century.

Kohli’s father, Prem Kohli, passed away in 2006 after suffering a heart attack. The young boy, though, turned out to bat for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy despite the personal tragedy.

Ishant, who was part of the team, recalled how he found out about the passing away of Kohli’s father. Speaking on Ranveer Allahbadia’s YouTube show, he said:

“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 video analyst with him."

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 with me, I don’t think I could even have gone to the ground,” Ishant added.

Virat Kohli

@imVkohli

This father's day, I urge you all to be grateful for the love of your father but always look for your own path to move forward in life. You'll never have to look behind because they're always watching over you whether they're physically there or not. Happy father's day

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This father's day, I urge you all to be grateful for the love of your father but always look for your own path to move forward in life. You'll never have to look behind because they're always watching over you whether they're physically there or not. Happy father's day 😊💛 https://t.co/u87hHWL03b

Kohli went on to make his debut for India in 2008 and is regarded as one of the finest batters of the modern era.

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“We share a lot of things with each other” - Ishant on his bond with Kohli

During the interaction, Ishant was asked if he would consider Kohli as his closest ‘bro’ from the cricket fraternity. The fast bowler nodded in agreement and replied:

“Yes, you can say that. We share a lot of things with each other, mostly funny."

Elaborating on one incident, the 34-year-old recalled how Kohli pulled his leg after the pacer was selected for U-19 zone cricket, but he wasn’t. Ishant narrated:

“I was picked from U-17 for U-19 zone cricket, but his name did not come. He asked me, ‘tune kya setting lagayi hai? Tere naam aaya, mera naam nahi.’ (What setting you used? Why is your name there and not mine?)

"I told him: I just play. There is no setting or anything. Just like that, joking and laughing, we made out List A and first-class debut together. We played U-19 together and kept progressing.”

Ishant made his international debut in 2007 and has represented India in 105 Tests, 80 ODIs and 14 T20Is.

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