"Virat said, 'Mujhe galat out diya gaya hai'" - Rajkumar Sharma recalls interaction with Kohli after he batted in a Ranji game despite father's death
Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma recalled a tough conversation he had with the cricketer after he batted in a Ranji Trophy game on the same day that he lost his father. In Aditya Iyer's book 'Gully Gully: Travels Around India During The 2023 World Cup', Sharma revealed that Kohli was disappointed at missing out on a hundred even amid the pain of losing his father.
Kohli's father Prem died in December 2006. Rajkumar, who was in Sydney at that point, received a call from the Delhi cricketer at 2 a.m. IST. An 18-year-old Kohli was unbeaten on 40 in a Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka. The team needed his services, and braving the personal loss, the young cricketer went out to bat for Delhi.
In an extract from the book published on Cricbuzz, Rajkumar opened up on the conversation he had with Kohli after his father had died.
'It was a very difficult time, because his father was a very dear friend of mine. He was such a good soul as well. ... When it happened, I was in Sydney, I had taken my academy's team to Australia.
"Virat called me around 2 a.m. India time, and he was crying, just crying . . . I was in shock, so I told him, "Beta, just give me a minute I will call you back." I needed to gather myself, to be honest."
When Rajkumar called Kohli back, the cricketer told his coach that he was in the middle of a Ranji Trophy game and that his team wasn't in a strong position. Rajkumar then asked him if he wanted to bat. On receiving an affirmative response, he urged the youngster to go ahead.
"When I called him, he told me he was in the middle of a Ranji game and that this was the position of his team and his innings, and Delhi could follow on if not for his appearance the next day. I asked him what he wanted to do. He said he wanted to bat. So, I told him to go ahead. I needed to be strong for him," Rajkumar added.
Speaking about the state of the match, in response to Karnataka's 446, hosts Delhi were 103-5 at stumps on Day 2, with Kohli unbeaten on 40. The youngster not only went on out to bat on Day 3 but also scored a fighting 90. After the heroic knock, Rajkumar and Kohli had another chat. Sharing details of the same, the coach said:
"He called me again, at lunch once he had gotten out, and again the child was crying, but not because of what you think. Virat said over the phone, "Mujhe galat out diya gaya hai, mera sau reh gaya (I was given out wrongly, I should've gotten a hundred)." That is his level of passion for the game. How could he not make it?"
Kohli went on to lead India to a famous win in the 2008 U-19 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur. He made his international debut the same year in a one-dayer against Sri Lanka in Dambulla.
Virat Kohli's sensational international record
Having shown great promise as a youngster, Kohli has gone on to fulfill his potential to a great extent on the big stage. He's fourth on the list of all-time leading run-getters in international cricket, with 27,129 runs from 537 games.
Only Sachin Tendulkar (34,357), Kumar Sangakkara (28,016) and Ricky Ponting (27,483) have scored more runs in international cricket.
Kohli is also the only cricketer with 50 ODI tons. He achieved the record in the 2023 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in Mumbai, scoring 117 off 113. Overall, the right-handed batter has 80 centuries in international cricket, next only to Tendulkar (100).