“No, I will play with seniors only” - Rajkumar Sharma recalls young Virat Kohli’s conversation with mother after getting hit
Virat Kohli’s childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma has revealed that the cricketer was adamant about practicing with players from senior age groups during his early days. Recalling an incident, he added that Kohli refused to play with boys of his age group despite getting hit while batting against seniors.
Kohli received his early training in cricket from Sharma in Delhi. The 34-year-old rose to international fame and is today regarded as one of the finest batters in the world.
The superstar batter is currently part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) outfit in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. On Friday, May 5, RCB’s official YouTube handle shared a video that traced Kohli’s childhood years in Delhi.
Narrating the story about how Kohli was extremely keen on testing himself against seniors, Sharma said:
“When he came, I put him in the junior group - below 10-11. He never used to get out against them. So he came to me and told me, ‘sir I want to play with the elders’. I said, ‘you are too young’. But he used to say, ‘no sir, they can’t get me out’.
“One day I got a little bit annoyed and said, ‘okay, go and pad up’. So, he went and padded up and he played well. But he missed one ball and it hit him here [pointing towards chest]. He tried not to show it [bruise] to anybody, but when he went to his house, his mother saw it.
“Next day, she came and said, let him play in his own age group. He refused and said to his mother, ‘no, I will play with seniors only’. He is a god-gifted talent.”
Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma and academy kids wished Virat Kohli on his birthday! https://t.co/AcLCsOhIhv
Sharing his first impressions of the former India captain, Sharma declared that he came to know Kohli was special after observing him for a few days.
The 57-year-old commented:
“It was 30th May 1998. He came with his brother and father. Within a couple of days, we could see that he was a different child from others - very active, very hyper, very naughty guy, always willing to do everything on his own.
“He was very determined and dedicated boy, who was willing to work really hard and wanted to dominate from day one. He had that tremendous self-belief that ‘I can do anything’.”
Kohli came into the limelight when he led India to victory in the U19 World Cup in 2008. He made his India debut in the same year and hasn’t looked back since.
“That was a very emotional moment” - Sharma on receiving special call from Kohli
Sharing another tale about Kohli, Sharma recalled the phone call he received from his most famous student after the former was named India captain.
The renowned coach said:
“The day he became captain in all three formats, he called me and said, ‘sir, do you remember I used to come on cycle, keeping my kitbag in the front. We wouldn’t have thought that I would reach here'. That was a very emotional moment. He was a very dear child from the beginning.”
Kohli has amassed over 25000 runs in international cricket and has 75 tons to his name.