'Was offered an easier path, he said...': Virat Kohli goes down memory lane as he shares heartfelt post on Father's Day

Virat Kohli has posted a touching tribute on Instagram for his father in honor of Father’s Day. His father, Prem Kohli, passed away in 2006 when Virat was only 18 years old. The unfortunate passing of his father took place during a Ranji Trophy match while he was competing against Karnataka. On Father’s Day, Virat Kohli expressed his emotions in a heartfelt message about the profound influence his father had on his life and the lessons that remain with him for a lifetime.

The batting maestro posted a previously unseen childhood photo of himself and added the caption, "He taught me to never rely on shortcuts or influence — because if you truly have it in you, hard work will show it. And if you don’t have the will to work for it, then maybe you don’t deserve it yet".

"When I was offered an easier path once, he refused it for me. With calm conviction, he said, “If you’re good enough, you’ll find your way. And if not, it’s better to know that early.”

"That one moment shaped how I live, work, and show up in the world. Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers whose quiet strength becomes our lifelong compass".

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Virat Kohli (@virat.kohli)

Earlier in the day, Kohli’s wife, actress Anushka Sharma, also made a post on Instagram where she shared several pictures for Father’s Day, captioning it, “To the first man I ever loved—and the first man our daughter did …. Happy Father’s Day to all the wonderful fathers everywhere.”

In the second image shared by Anushka, their daughter Vamika Kohli wrote a letter to Virat, which read, “He looks like my brother. He is funny. He tickles me. I play makeup with him. I love him so much, and he loves me this much (arms wide). Vamika.”

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by AnushkaSharma1588 (@anushkasharma)

Earlier in 2023, Virat Kohli spoke about his “cosmic connection” with the number 18, which signifies two pivotal moments in his life. The first was the passing of his father on December 18, 2006, and the second was his debut for India on August 18.

"To be honest, 18 started off as being just a number that was given to me when I first opened that India U-19 jersey with my name and number on the back. But it ended up becoming a very very important number in my life. I made my India debut on August 18. My father also died on December 18, 2006. Two of the most significant moments of my life happened to be on 18th. Even though i got the number before that, there seems to be a cosmic connection with this date," Kohli said in a video uploaded by Star Sports.

Today’s date  VK’s jersey no.@ImVkohli explains the importance of  in his life’s events! Will today’s match in the #RaceToPlayOffs add to the list?
Tune-in to #SRHvRCB at #IPLonStar
Today | Pre-show at 6:30 PM & LIVE action at 7:30 PM| Star Sports Network #BetterTogether pic.twitter.com/SWlA8gT3d0

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) May 18, 2023

Kohli expressed that he feels "blessed" to witness fans wearing jerseys featuring his name and number on their backs.

"I still find it surreal when we go to games and i see people wearing my jersey number and name. I find it surreal because as a kid, i wanted to wear the jersey of my heroes. You just feel grateful and this is just a great opportunity god has given and you just feel blessed," he added.

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